ARCTiCa Archives: Girlfriends of Metal & A Family of Monsters
by OutragedFungus4
Summary: Earth is now a peaceful and unified utopia where humans and Demi humans co-exist together as one. That was until a new alien species came crashing into the equation. Now that these mechanical beauties have found a ‘willing’ mate to live with, the people of Earth will need to learn how to get along with their new neighbors or end up facing their own extinction.
1. Entry: A1

Hold on to your hats and grab a beverage of your choice as this is going to be my biggest story yet! Filled with comedy, hijinks, adventures, twists, and romance!

This is an OC X (OC) harem story and follows my own universe and story, however there are some close ties to other series such as DLWMG, Transformers Prime, Unbreakable machine doll, a few monster series, and a bunch more robot/mech series… Crossovers and other intergalactic adventures will ensure later on, involving all kinds of other universes and franchises.

I will be constantly working on any grammatical and spelling errors you come across, so don't bother overly commenting on such things as it's already on my to-do list.

The archival database will attempt to censor and eliminate any swearing that may appear, however, due to the age of the operating system some bugs might be present, rated T for occasional swearing, sexual references… and a metric ton of fluff.

 **Enjoy**

"OH, Come on, pick up, PICK UP!…I can't believe it, the ONE time I need to get a hold of him, her happens to be busy. He's normally pretty good at responding, trust me." A man in his mid-thirties impatiently spoke out loud to his coworkers as he stood with his back turned and a phone held up to his ear.

After hearing tone dull tone of an answering machine he hung up, clearly agitated.

Turning to his concerned coworkers he took a deep breath and began reassuring them. "Don't worry, Zack is a good friend, from my time when I worked with him in mechanical engineering, he's just a little preoccupied at the moment… he'll come and help us out with our problem… in due time." He finished by sending a text to the person in question then pocketing the device.

"Until he contacts me, we'll just run constant surveillance on it." He spoke again walking over to a messy metal table. Grabbing a clipboard he began reading the latest updated notes.

"But will he really be able to help us? This is unlike that's ever happened on Earth before." A blonde female in a long white lab coat asked as she started cleaning off their workspace from clutter.

"Yes I know, but our situation has worsened recently, as you all know… I want to bring Zack aboard this team because if there's anyone I trust to help us, it's him." He answered back.

"Alright, we can try… but if he's just a deadweight were kicking him to the curb." The blonde responded.

"Uh Robbie, it's really active now." A dark haired blue eyed woman with large glasses spoke as she looked up from her monitor a few meters away from where the two were standing.

"What's happening now? Is there anything that you can think of anything that would have triggered it?" He asked while looking over at her.

"It started a few minutes ago, right after you made that phone call actually... and ever since then, it's been clawing at the containment cells concrete walls, as well as actively destroying any cameras that are nearby… Thermal tracking is also useless as its heat signature just keeps disappearing." She answered quickly looking up from her computer with worry present in her eyes.

"Do what we can and only hope that my friend gets my message and that the cell holds," Robbie spoke with apparent fear in his voice as the group looked through the large viewing window, made of 8-inch thick bulletproof glass.

"But we can't rely solely on your friend, we should be ab-." A faint primal scream sounded from inside the cell, interrupting the blonde and causing heavy vibrations to rumble everything around the group. They all looked at each other knowing full well their safety precautions would not be enough if the creature got to the opening.

Robbie looked at the riveted edges of the viewing screen wondering if this facility was even going to survive such a creature. Truly it was never built with use in mind.

It was an old military laboratory that was decommissioned, when this creature came crashing to Earth it was brought here to be studied. The old hangar was turned into a massive containment cell, with its own independently functioning ecosystem. The living area, however, looked something like out of a fallout bunker, with everything being designed for optimal use and functionality in mind, but left everything looking dull and boring, with the main colours being chrome, concrete, or dull greens… luckily total ownership was given to Robbie and his small research team, and they were able to splurge on a few paintings.

A second primal scream sounded from within the containment cell, this one being much louder, and higher pitched than the previous one causing everyone's blood to run cold as ice upon hearing it.

"It's getting closer." The one at the monitor spoke up in her attempted not terrified voice.

"Let's just hope that if your friend gets your message, we'll still be alive to receive his help." The blonde girl spoke up.

"Yeah…. Me too." Robbie said while swallowing nervously.

 **o0o**

 **Beep: you have 5 new messages**

"Hey Zack, remember me, Robbie? Of course, you do… I'm calling cause, umm I need a favour… with something… urgent… call me as soon as you can."

 **Beep:**

"Heyy, Robbie again… Alright so if you were concerned with that last message, don't be, we have gotten things under control…Mostly, bad news is that we will need you to come by sometime today… the coordinates are 152-"

 **Beep:**

"Alright my…... co-worker has just informed me that I cannot share our coordinates, I am sending someone to get you at, let's say for 10:00 am… be ready."

 **Beep:**

"Heyy good morning big brother, just wanted to call, catch up…and also to tell you to make them STOP CALLING ME! I have received endless calls from this guy named Robbie asking for you, I mean how did he even get my number? Whatever do your sis a big favour wake up, AND MAKE THEM STOP CALLING ME… bye luv ya."

 **Beep:**

"Alright my 'assistant' Veronica will be on her way to pick you up… she'll be the blonde driving the Xtrek, I believe… you worked on its designs, right? One rugged machine I tell you, one of my favourites… OH, also pack a bag, because this will probably take a few days."

 **Beep: you have 0 new messages**

"Robbie?... It's been awhile since I've last seen him, close to a year I believe… Clearly, it's been too long if he thinks flattery will work on me." I groggily spoke along lying face up in my mess of a bed.

"It must be something pretty urgent if he actually called to admit he needed my help… Whatever it is I'm sure I can fix it, plus it's probably nothing that life-altering, and I have nothing going on now so sure, why not?" I reasoned to myself as I lazily rolled over to look at my clock.

Seeing it being 9:30 I rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom for a quick shower.

After getting out I did my hair which involved me lazily tussling it with one hand before it fell into its normal position, I then threw on my usual outdoorsy clothing, and finally packed a backpack with everything that I would need for a few days.

Heading to my kitchen I made myself a quick omelet for breakfast and ate while checking my phone for any new notifications and emails.

I have only recently become quite the chef, it all started when my sister got sick of knowing that I was eating fast food for pretty much every meal, she made it her mission to teach me how to cook and thus came over every day for about a month and rigorously taught me to cook, I learned rather quickly, and within that short month I picked up on pretty much all her tricks and secrets.

As I was washing up I got a text telling me that they were outside. Grabbing my bag, I did a quick walk throughout my place to make sure all the lights were off, after that, I walked out my front door, locked it then walked over to the X-trek.

Note: The X-trek was an expedition vehicle I helped design, it was based on the design of the ripsaw and was built for the worst of conditions. It's interior is modular and can be changed depending on what it's used for.

Walking up to the vehicles passenger door I tugged on the metal handle but the door didn't not open, peering up to the very high window I saw a blonde woman shake her head in amusement then point over her shoulder to the back seats. Shrugging, I obliged and got into the back.

Just so you know I'm not short, I'm 6 ft, the vehicle is just that freaking tall.

Upon opening the door I saw that Robbie was sitting on the bench and that the seats were arranged to face each other like in a restaurant, but with no table.

"Hey Robbie, you didn't tell me you would be coming, I wouldn't have worn such nice clothes for you." I joked while getting in and closing the door.

"You haven't changed one bit… how's everything? It's been a little while." He asked as we shook hands.

"Everything's good, recently learned how to cook, so no more fast food… and works been a drag recently," I answered, sitting on the bench with my bag between my legs.

"What can I say, work is work… and I assume it was your sister who taught you? She is quite the cook." He said with an arch of his eyebrow.

"Yeah well, she was tired of knowing that fast food was all that I was eating, especially because everyone else in my family are like… aspiring cooks," I explained while settling into my seat.

"Makes sense… oh right, this is Veronica." He introduced quickly like he forgot she existed.

"Hey, I heard your quite the… problem solver, I hope you can help us." She said with a little finger wave not looking back.

"You haven't even told me what's happening, or what you even need help with." I asked while turning back to Robbie.

"You'll find out soon enough." He cryptically answered.

"You know I hate that kind of answer, right?" I retorted.

"Oh yes I know, it's one of the few things I can do to really piss you off."

"I hate to interrupt but I really like your house, it's like anything I have ever seen." She politely interrupted as she drove slowly around my place.

"Thank you, my friend and I designed it, I went for a modern look, with lots of 90-degree angles, white concrete, glass and oak wood finishes… the whole place is really spacious and with really high ceilings." I told her the specs like the nerd that I am.

"It's beautiful, I would love to have a house like that, do you live by yourself in that massive place?"

"Yes and no, my sister stays over quite often… we're pretty close." I replied completely missing the subtext of that question.

"Interesting." She said as if deep in thought.

"Anyway, let's get a move on… shall we?" Robbie asked interrupting her deep in thought.

"Of course... professor." She answered and the large tracked expedition vehicle accelerated, with a faint whine of its electric fusion motors.

"Professor? Please don't tell me you make her call you that." I said with a smile. He just leaned back and shrugged his shoulders with a smile in response.

"So spill it 'professor' what is this issue you need me for?" I asked sarcastically.

"Well, about a month ago an object crashed to Earth, a pod as you will… our research team got permission to use an old decommissioned military research base that was upgraded to suit our needs. We began tests on the pod and found that there appeared to be a creature inside it, we tried everything to get it open with no avail."

"Then one day it just opened, all on its own and the creature awoke… luckily where we were doing our attempts on opening it the pod was in the cell, a large hangar converted into a self-sustaining ecosystem. It's closed off from the rest of the base… and the world. We would like your help in understanding and researching this new creature." He explained crossing his legs and bringing his fingertips together.

"Why on Earth would you think I would be able to help you with this? I thought you had an issue with your computer or hell your car!"

"We were instructed to keep this on the down low, out of the public eye at least for now. And my team is only so big, as it involves only people I can trust… at least just try to help, plus you worked at an animal shelter for a year, right?"

"That's REALLY different Robbie those were animals, this sounds like a creature from space… but you have peaked my interest so, I'll give it a shot." I responded shocked. "Why wouldn't the government handle this?" I asked back.

"They have other issues to handle, as far as they care this is just a meteor that crashed to Earth, and were just a bunch of nut jobs that are after its 'secrets', that's also what the public's been told." He responded with air quotes when he said secret.

"You would think this would be on there radar, I mean it's like… HEY, AN ALIEN HAS CRASHED TO Earth! YOU GONNA CHECK IT OUT? NAH I'M GOOD, I SAW ONE YESTERDAY." I joked sarcastically, as both Robbie and Veronica snickered slightly.

"I don't know why, it's just not… however, there is a small section in the government that we will be reporting to, there the ones who gave us the base."

"Okay… how do you want me to help?" I asked curiously.

"Anyway that you think you can, we want to find out if this creature is hostile or not, and so far I think it might be… BUT we're not jumping to any conclusions just yet." He explained.

"Sounds easy enough, can you identify its species, or if it resembles anything familiar?"

"What we were able to find out is that it seems to be made of metal or some non organic material." Robbie answered.

"Oh, that sounds cool, and otherworldly… what else do you know? And what would you do if it was peaceful?" I asked.

"Not much else I'm afraid, it's deep in the cell and all surveillance equipment that's of use to us has already been taken out by it, and to answer your question if it were to be peaceful, then we would run tests on it… and if all goes well we would consider releasing it into the real world… possibly." He answered.

"What kind of tests? We don't want to kill it, especially if it's peaceful."

"Correct, especially if it's peaceful, we would run tests on its behaviour, skin, and mental abilities, things like that." He answered knowing what it meant to me.

"Sounds good to me… when can I start?" I asked now hyped up.

"As soon as we get there." He answered like a parent on a road trip.

"How long until then?"

"About... 4 hours." Veronica answered from the driver's seat, looking back through the rearview mirror.

"4 HOURS? You mean to tell me that this is a 4 HOUR drive? WHY on Earth did you tell all the juicy stuff in like the first 8 minutes? now we will have nothing to talk about and it'll get awkward… Fast." I said with a groan as I flopped my head back.

"Nonsense, that's not true, we can talk about…. your work, for instance." Robbie

"This is exactly what I meant by awkward conversation," I said as I heard Veronica laugh.

"Well, try to make it less awkward…" She said with annoyance and humour in her voice.

"Fine… tell me more… about this creature I mean." I submitted with a sigh.

"Alright then… We learned that it seems to…..." Robbie began with a hand clap and a smile.

And for the next 4 hours, Robbie and Veronica caught me up to speed with my new assignment, and any details worth knowing… but in reality there wasn't much to be filled in on as they mostly told me things about the area and the base, they also refused to answer a bunch of my questions with both of them saying. "You'll find out soon enough."

So it was mostly 4 hours of pointless small talk and the occasional terrible dad joke cracked from Robbie.

We finally arrived at their 'base'. The entrance was a large hatch located on a small hill in the middle of a clearing in a forest, it was also fairly close to a rocky cliff side of a mountain, so my assumption was that the rest of it was somehow built into the mountain.

A small long dirt road that was of another road in the middle of nowhere was the only possible way to get to this location. The forest was to thick to get through with any sort of vehicle and aircraft couldn't land because of there being a whole slew of anti-aircraft defences hidden amongst the trees and mountains.

Parking the vehicle along the tree line, we all got out and walked over to the large bulkhead door lying on the side of the hill.

"It would take at least 40 tons of raw pulling force to break this bad boy open," Robbie said full of pride looking at the hatch.

"I'm guessing you designed it?" I asked taking a glance at the hatch.

"I did, I wanted this place to me as hard as possible to access." He said all giddy.

"Alright, but you might have wanted to put in something better than Home Depot pet door hinges."

"Oh yeah, well…." Robbie stuttered.

"Alright that's enough, let's just open the bulkhead," Veronica said motioning for Robbie to open the door, which he promptly started doing.

"How on Earth did you ever work with him? But I guess with what I just witnessed you have gotten used to shutting him down." Veronica spoke turning my and looking at me.

"Yeah, you'd think… but he always comes up with ways to surprise you." I answered with a shrug my shoulders.

"Oh, believe me, I know." She responded looking down at him with a smile.

"I'm still here you know." He voiced as sat on his knees opening the door.

"Oh hush you, I hope you end up staying because there's only so much of Robbie's solo act that we all can take," Veronica said lightly while kicking Robbie's rear with her high heeled boots.

"We'll see how difficult this creature turns out to be, it might be a quick thing or you could be stuck with me for quite a while," I answered as the doors large bulkhead opened with a loud clunk sound.

"What took you so long?" Veronica asked in annoyance.

"Yeah, to be honest, I was mainly eavesdropping." He admitted standing up and rubbing the back of his head.

"Something's never change." she said with a sigh of annoyance, then promptly threw the door open in one fluid motion and motioned me to enter first. "Shall we?"

Nodding I climbed through the opening and started descending, the stairs were made of concrete, with little pieces of yellow cross-hatched grippy tape stuck to the top of each step.

The steps were relatively steep and they went down seemingly forever into a large pitch black room.

The door closed with a slow creek, then a heavy slam cutting off all light that was present, luckily at that time I was at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hey Robbie, your generator seems to be shot probably due to your lack of maintenance, want me to take a look at it?" I asked loudly testing if this was a joke or rouse, and if he was in on it. Why else would Veronica wanted me to go first if Robbie was present on the stairs he was doing a damn good job keeping himself quite.

"Veronica, where are the lights? Or was you decommissioned base never fully recommissioned." I said out loud, then listened carefully for a reaction of some kind… Nothing.

"If this is a joke it's funny but an ultimate waste of my time, if this is a power failure then I'm gonna work on getting some lights on." Again In response, I got nothing.

Reaching for my phone, I took turned on the flashlight and began searching around for any sign of life or a breaker box.

Along the side of the nearest wall, I found a metal box protruding out a few inches, it also had a number of large electrical cables running inside the box… breaker box located.

Opening it I made extra sure as to not touch anything that could potentially fry me. Shining the light to the rocker switches I found they were all on, odd that either means the bulbs are blown or they're manually switched off.

Closing the door to the box which made a high pitched squeak in the process followed by a loud click that echoed through the room of undetermined size, I readied myself to move on but froze solid when I felt a hand of sorts lightly touch my shoulder.

The hand was cold and smooth, like it's made out of metal, exactly like how Robbie explained the skin of the creature was like, odd I don't remember walking into the cell as he called it… maybe the creature got out, and that's why this place looks… Abandoned.

Busy with my thoughts I barely noticed it's slow advances up my shoulder and around my neck, wondering if it was the creature I decided to wait as I wouldn't want to do anything rash.

The grip tightened a little around my neck, but in doing so I felt a pulse… albeit a weak one but still.

Also, the hand felt malleable to much be full metal, so maybe... a glove? I debated internally and finally drew out my decision when I felt a seam.

Quickly I spun around and threw a punch at presumably would be the stomach of whatever had its hand on me, immediately I felt the grip loosen and the hand fall limply off me.

 ** _Thud_**

"OWW, what the hell was that for mate?" I heard a man yell as I heard a meaty thud sound.

Meaty/fleshy sounding was a good sign as it meant I didn't just punch a cosmic metal being of undetermined strength, intelligence or aggression… but if it wasn't a creature of metal then who'd just hit?

 **BOOF**

The sound of powerful floodlights turning on sounded and instantly the room was illuminated and my sight fell upon a tall, slightly pudgy tanned man, with brown curly hair.

"JONAS! Oh my gawd are you alright?" A girl with straight dark hair screamed in horror as she ran into the room and immediately drop to her knees, checking on him.

"Yeah, I think I'm ok," Jonas said attempting to sit up but fell back to the ground with a painful groan.

"Try not to move." The black haired girl said laying his head back down gently.

"You had it coming, what did you think was going to happen if you turned off the lights and messed with me? Honestly, it's like you didn't even think it through past turning off the lights." I asked looking around the room, then back at the person on the ground.

"I told you, man, it was a just a joke… a prank." Jonas said, holding his stomach in pain as the black haired girl helped him over to a chair. "Thanks, Ana." He added quietly.

"I didn't even punch you that hard, get up and stop being a baby," I said in my defence.

"I know it was dark, and you might not have been thinking straight but did you have to punch as hard as you could?" I had Ana sternly asked as she walked over to me, looking down a foot at a cross woman that upon closer inspection was slightly Asian.

"First off, I was thinking straight, and second I can punch way harder," I responded with little compassion.

"Did you get him? I can't recall if he was ever scared of the dark or not." Robbie spoke walking down the steps followed by Veronica. "Oh, guess not then." He ended with when he saw Jonas groaning in a chair, being tended to by the one called Ana.

Veronica gasped on instinct when she saw her co-worker in such a state, and quickly walked over to assist.

"Look if it makes you feel better, I'm sorry for punching your boyfriend… and also I'll give you this, it should help with the bruising." I said kneeling down at grabbing a small medical tube out of my pack and tossing it to him.

"Uh, thanks… I guess?" He said looking at the tube in confusion/interest while Ana lifted his shirt inspecting his pudgy stomach, spying a tennis ball sized bruise starting to form, she put his shirt down.

"Umm, you better… not do something like that again." She spoke with a blush then promptly turning away from me, she grabbed Jonas by the hand and pulled him into a nearby bedroom.

"What the hell was that? A prank? I swear if you dragged me here just to be part of some prank so help me god." I said turning to Robbie and pointing a finger at him.

"No, of course, it's not the reason you're here, it's just that we all have had a stressful couple of weeks here… and we thought that it would be good for the team if we did something that wasn't about our work, I guess it wasn't planned as well as we thought." He quickly admitted putting his hands up in the air.

"You think?" I said turning away from him and looking at the open bedroom door.

"I'm going to go check on Jonas and do us a favour and try not to punch anybody else while your here," Veronica spoke with venom in her voice as she walked off into the bedroom where Jonas and Ana were.

"This wasn't your fault man… we were tired when we thought this up, no one could have predicted what was going to happen… I'll go talk to them, you in the meantime can go get yourself familiar with the living quarters and then you can get settled into your room." Robbie said as he walked by me patting me on the shoulder in the process.

"Wait, tell Jonas I'm sorry… I acted on impulse. By the way is this your whole team?" I spoke making Robbie stop, turn, and look at me.

"Yes, and no… we have another group that brings us supplies, but those guys really just drop stuff off… there are a few others that work with us, but they're homesick and have been sent home for the time being… they'll let me know when they're ready to come back." He explained as started walking again to the room.

"Oh, one last thing before you go, does this facilitate networks out for miles?" I asked looking around the main room.

"Of course not, the rooms you see are really the only rooms here… consisting of bedrooms and storage rooms…what do you think we are, Aperture Science?" He said with a smirk before joining the others for there own little team meeting.

"That game came out like 30 years ago, move on," I said as he shrugged with a smile then walked off into the bedroom to have there private team meeting, of sorts.

Taking one last look around the main area which had a small area off to the side with a tv, coffee table and a series of chairs and couches. There were two large metal tables with a set of metal chairs in the middle and against a large glass viewing window in which one could see leaves and foliage through it. In another corner, I spied a door that lead to a kitchen, and a very nice one if that.

Walking up to the glass viewing window I saw what looked like a rainforest, and immediately on the other side of the glass was a large section of flat concrete on it were many tools of different sizes and pushed off to the side was a large and empty space pod.

Intrigued, I had the urge to explore the large indoor forest immediately, but knowing that this place would be my new home for the next little bit I decided to wait… also running into a place with an unknown creature with no knowledge of it was not high on my list of to-dos.

Reluctantly, I went to my room and put the stuff I brought into an empty drawer located in the nightstand.

Almost immediately after I finished putting my clothing away, I heard a knock on the door.

Opening it I saw my new team all standing before me.

"Hey, we kind of need to talk." I heard Veronica say.

"Don't, I shouldn't have punched Jonas I acted on impulse, and I know that if I pull that kind of thing when with that mystery creature it'll end up way worse then one of us getting bruised in the stomach." I rambled on.

"Um, that is not what we came here about… Can we?..." She said correcting herself and gesturing towards my room.

"Oh, yeah sure." I spoke while moving out of the way.

The team of 4 came in, while I moved and sat on the bed.

"I… we thank you for your apology and yes we shouldn't be beating each other, but if we actually thought our little stunt through and considered the consequences then nothing would have happened… we should be the ones apologizing we asked you here for your help and the first thing we do is try and spook you." Veronica admitted.

"Hey it's no problem," I responded.

"Really?" Veronica and Ana asked in unison… however, Jonas just glared at me with dislike in his eyes.

"Yeah, other than it making me wonder about the state of this places electrical systems and Jonas getting punched in the stomach, no harm done," I replied immediately with no hesitation.

"Don't do it again." Ana sternly said pointing a finger at me stepping forward a bit.

"Message received, your boyfriend is off limits," I responded with a smirk causing her blush, then scramble to hide behind Jonas.

"Well I know we just got back but we're wasting daylight, so to speak, so we should get working while things are in our favour," Robbie said walking to the door and holding it open.

"Try to keep the teasing to a minimum, towards Anastasia, she's a genius with computers but can be a little… Sensitive." Veronica whispered at me as she bent down while Jonas walked out with Ana right behind him, glued to his back.

"Are they?..."

"Dating? Yes." Veronica answered looking over at them.

"Cute," I muttered.

"What was that?" Veronica asked quickly, directing her attention back to

"They seem cute, I think it's because of the height difference… Ana is much shorter than Jonas." I clarified.

"Yes they are cute in a sense, try not to pick on them too much though, they are both a little sensitive on the subject." Veronica admitted standing up fully and taking a step toward the door.

"Wait, are you and Robbie?" I asked standing up and walking toward the door. Veronica smiled coyly and winked at me then walked off.

"Well alright then, off to work then," I said out loud to myself as I walked out of my room, closing the door behind me and going into the main room.

"Robbie, are you and Veronica?... you know, together?" I asked as I walked over to Robbie who was putting together a folder.

"I suppose…" He responded in a non-Robbie like way.

"Alright, cryptic… what's this?" I asked as he handed me a folder mid-sentence.

"That is everything we know so far about the creature, this facility, the pod… everything, read it over then tomorrow we'll try a confrontation." He said directing his attention to another folder at the end.

"I thought we already went over this during the trip here?" I asked looking blankly at the thick folder.

"I told you everything that I could recall off the top of my head, this will make you aware of everything… go, study."

He said pointing at the living room with a tv, chairs, and couches.

"Fi~iine, but I'm not going to be happy about this," I said throwing up my arms in defeat and walking away.

"Attaboy," Robbie responded going back to his usual demeanour turning back to his desk in the process.

Walking over to the living room area where I saw Ana and Jonas sitting together on the couch watching a rom-com. I passed Veronica who was on the main terminal computer updating a log spreadsheet.

They paused it when they saw me walk into view, and then proceeded to sit and watch me like a hawk. I took a seat on a nearby upholstered chair that matched the couch, table, and rug.

"I know my aura of awesomeness puts any rom-com to shame but I do need to study per Robbie's orders… try to forget that I'm here I'll return the favour." I spoke looking down on my lap at the thick folder.

The two became rather embarrassed for a second looking around randomly and uttering incoherent gibberish before they finally gained a little bit of composure and went back to watching their show.

I can't lie, as bad as it was to read pages and pages of research papers, the rom-com in the background made it even worse, after 10 or 20 minutes of listening to bad jokes followed by that god awful laugh track I had to get a pair of headphones, getting up I walked off to my room in search of a pair.

Walking back to my chair now dawned with a pair of large over-ear studio headphones and a big fluffy hoodie two sizes too big for me, I took a seat and resumed my studying.

Jonas and Ana were now super self-conscious of themselves as they kept the volume really low, as well as they were attempting to be as small and unnoticeable as possible as they snuggled on the couch. Even though they guaranteed saw that I had headphones and was now immune to their shows audio.

Eventually, it became apparent to everyone what was going, to the point that Veronica got up, came over and started talking to them after she left they visibly relaxed and they put the volume back up to their level of comfort.

I estimated that each one of their episodes were about 30 min long and at this point, they had gone through at 4 or so… also by this time I had reached the halfway point of the research papers assigned to me… SOOO, using my raw untainted genius I figured that I was reading for about 2h.

That's too long...

"I'm done, it's too much… After school I vowed to never read another research paper again, this almost pushed me to insanity." I said out loud to Robbie while standing up and walking over to him, passing the two confused lovebirds who had no idea who I was talking to.

"Alright Robbie, I think I studied enough, can we do something now?" I said walking up to him playing on his phone.

"Did you read all of it?" He asked glancing up from his phone with an arched eyebrow.

"Pshh, No, of course not… you know me, but I did skim through most of it so I'm all prepared." I spoke with pride while tossing the folder on to the table.

"I expected as much from you, well just relax and think about what you just learned, we go into the cage in the morning." He said turning back to his phone.

"What's there to ponder on? So far I've learned how to open the door to the cage, what the ecosystem is like and how the whole thing works… that's it, there was absolutely nothing on this mystery creature… I'm also starting to think that this creature was just made it up." I said with annoyance in my voice.

"Alright, Zack… The truth is we made it all up, the two of us drove 8 hours to get you and we brought you here to dissect you… OR it's because we have nothing on this creature other than it's physical attributes which we got from a faint glimpse at a small section of its skin… the only reason we're not going right now is that we're still compiling all movement and heat readings within the cage to best pinpoint the location of the creature so we're not wandering around aimlessly inside the 4 square kilometre enclosure." Robbie said raising his voice and standing up, clearer agitated.

"Then could we work on compiling to get it done faster?" I asked staring him straight in the eye.

"No, it's an automated system, courtesy of Ana and it's as efficient as it could be… There is no way to speed it up, but if you think your greater the rest of us are we're all just slowing you down then why don't you go in there yourself, and if you find it I'll give you credit, but if we have to bail you out or you come back with nothing, then you have to follow my rules, and you can't complain." Robbie spoke loudly staring right back at me, leaning in and closing the space between us… fast.

Our conversation as getting loud, so much so that the rest of the group had stopped what they were doing, and were now turned and listening intently to what we're ttalking about.

"Well, I think that's the smartest thing you've said so far… challenge accepted." I said holding out my hand.

Robbie in return grabbed my hand and shook it firmly, "Now that's the man I wanted to be brought upon my team… BUT although you might be a bright lad, with an abundance of enthusiasm I can almost guarantee that you will not find anything." He said letting go of my hand, then with a smile, I hopped off to my room to grab my bag.

"Why would you let him do something like that?" Veronica asked as she walked up to Robbie.

"Zack works in ways different from the rest of us, he doesn't learn unless it's through experience… he'll most likely come back with nothing, or on the odd chance he'll hit a genius moment and pretty much solve everything… although I highly doubt the second will happen." Robbie said putting his arm around Veronica who in turn leaned into his hug.

"I think he'll find it alright, then hopefully get eaten." Jonas piped up, leaning over the back of the couch.

"I don't like him that much on account to him hitting you, but even I think that's a little cruel." Ana added looking over at the two standing up, who was currently lying under Jonas' arm and a large blanket that showed nothing but her head,large round glasses and some black hair.

"Let's just hope you didn't jump the gun, because if he gets hurt you're going to regret it," Veronica said pulling away from Robbie grasp and walking away.

Robbie did nothing but gulp quite audibly as that woman's threat promised that if things didn't go well he would have much more than just a rough night tonight.

"If he gets hurt, I'm going to be really upset with you as well." Ana said turning to Jonas.

"WHAA?...Me?...Why me?" He stuttered as he looked down to see his girlfriend in a blanket bundle glaring at him.

"You wished misfortune upon him and if it does become true, then you'll be the one to take the blame from me." She answered him in a cute threatening voice then promptly got up and walked over to Veronica who was getting some sort of communication gear set up.

"What just happened, why have they turned against us?" Robbie asked Jonas as he looked over at him.

"I don't know, but I do that we'll be in for some rough nights if things don't know go well," Jonas said, glancing over at Ana, then bringing his attention back to Robbie.

"Let's just hope he knows what he's doing, for the good of the both of us," Jonas added, and all Robbie could do was nod in agreement.

"Alright, before I go off to my doom I have but one question." I spoke as I walked up to Veronica and Ana who were standing by the table of infinite clutter, Ana visibly tensing up when I said 'doom'.

"Depends." They both said in unison.

"How long has this been going on? The things between the 4 of you… as far as I'm concerned it's pretty rare that couples are assigned to work together, leaving the only reasonable option that you guys got together while working together." I said fixing my backpack squarely on my back.

"Fine, saw right through all of us I guess." Veronica said putting down a piece of gear, which Ana picked up immediately mainly just to have something in her hand.

"We started working here about a month or two ago, and at the time we were working to get that space pod open, and over that time we started drifting together." Veronica answered, standing up fully and looking right at me, showing me that she wasn't lying.

"Jonas and I worked on the more technical side with analytics, testing and logging and we naturally grew closer," Ana said gripping the small device with all her strength.

"And Robbie and I were more hands-on, working on the pod first hand… to be fair we were already pretty close before we started working here, it's the reason I'm here, to begin with… and since then we've only gotten closer."

"Right, he said this team was of people knew and trusted… so I'm guessing it was you and Robbie that brought Ana and Jonas onboard." I said gesturing to Veronica first then Ana.

"Correct, why the sudden interest in our relationships? It is only your first day here, your very perceptive." Veronica asked.

"Well, I knew something was up because you all suck at hiding your affections… and to be honest I was just curious." I finished with Ana handing me a communications device followed then both Robbie and Jonas walking over to us.

We all just stood there for a few awkward seconds, with no one saying anything or moving.

"Well, now it just seems like I'm 5th wheeling...man this is gonna be awkward being the only single person here." Upon saying this they all relaxed and loosened there body postures.

"Alright I'm going in, if I die I want none of you at my funeral." I said suddenly ending the silence then walking toward the large door leading into the cage.

"Don't say something like that, you're not going to die." Ana whined making me turn around to see here pressed up against Jonas back… the height difference between those two is truly spectacular there's like a full 1ft height difference.

"But if I don't I'll have to stay here in with two couples being the only single person here… honestly, death seems pretty good to the alternative." I said in a fake hurt way as I walked up to the large bulkhead door.

Getting nothing in response I said, "I'm kidding, I promise I'll come back safe and sound."

"Alright, I'll see you guys later," I said opening the large door and stepping through into the cage's interior.

Giving them one last glance I closed the door and heard a low sounding rumble of the bulkheads just as the door became flush with the wall and I knew that the door was again locked and that I was not getting back in under my own power.

Turning and putting the door behind me I saw the work area, it was a large slab of flat concrete, with a number of large cutters and torches laying around the large pod.

The pod was sitting by the wall, leaning ever so slightly into it. It's design looked space age with all of its colours being whites, greys, blacks with a few blue detailing stripes here and there.

The lines of the pod were elegant and flowing, never ending in any sort of angle. Giving the whole pod the illusion of being a liquid.

Walking around until I found the door, I found it was wide open showing the internal workings to me. The door did not have a viewing window but it did a screen on the inside that was showing some statistics of the pods status… It was all in a different language, with every status symbol flashing red...however, something about it all looked very familiar.

The interior of the pod was just a large opening, nothing really special to see there.

Moving my head outside of the pod I really got a sense of the size of it up close. It was around 10 ft tall, reaching out I touched the outer hill and it wasn't like anything that I've ever felt.

It was like a smooth polymer, that had no imperfections in it, the seams didn't exist as if it was one piece of material, not multiple. it even had a soft malleable feel to it, but given that this was my first time touching something from another world it must have been all in my head.

Looking at the pod I saw no physical damage to any part of it, not from those tools or from atmospheric re-entry. The pod was in pristine condition.

Backing up a step, I looked back through the clear viewing window and saw the team looking at me with interest.

Smiling to them I turned and took off into a light jog into the lightly forested area.

The actual artificial environment wasn't as thick as one would see from inside the living/work quarters. After a few meters, it thinned out nicely.

The floor was a nice mix of fine dirt and softwood fragments, giving it a nice squishy comfortable feel when walking. There were also a handful of large boulders scattered here and there with a few peeking up from the ground. A variety of trees were spread out leaving the floor nice and spacious, but still close enough so that there were always a number of trees in view at any given time.

After examining the surroundings for a few minutes I continued walking, noting that there were some bugs present as well as the serene songs of a few birds that were scattered in here.

Catching glimpses of a tall rock area through the treetops I changed my course slightly to explore that newly discovered location.

Upon getting closer to that large stone mountain I began to hear the sound of running water getting louder and louder.

When I got to the base I saw that the rock mountain was actually a water volcano, with streams of fresh water flowing down the rocky sides.

Kneeling down and taking a sip of the small pool of accumulated water I found it was quite refreshing, cool to the touch and tasted very similar to groundwater.

After I finished my drink I attempted to stand back up, however, my awkward kneeling position mixed with my backpacks extra weight caused me to become unbalanced thus ending with me tripping over my own feet and landing on my hands and knees.

I took a second to catch my breath, when I stood back up I noticed I had fallen into a sort of mini ravine, it looked like water had been flowing causing the dirt to be pushed away into a sort of path, but now there was no water to be seen in that section.

Looking at it closer it had a natural serpentine wave to it, almost as if a snake had passed through here… A snake that's 1 ft in diameter in fact, you would have thought that if there were massive snakes in here Robbie would have told me.

That when I realized that I had the communications device Ana gave me.

Turning it on I held down the side button. "Is anyone there?" I asked speaking into the small box with an antenna.

"Hello? Yes we copy, are you alright?" I heard a staticky voice of undetermined gender answer.

"Yes, of course… I haven't seen any hint of there being any sort of creature here, except this large snake trail, you didn't tell me you had massive snakes in here." I spoke back to them.

"What? There are a few snakes in there but they're all small, how big is the trail?" The voice spoke again.

"Umm, about 1 ft in diameter…" I hesitantly responded.

"There are no snakes in that large, maybe it was the water?" They reasoned with me.

"I thought that too, as it's right beside the stream and the water pool… But the signs show it's not water, has to much of a serpentine shape to it." I responded to there question.

"Maybe it's the creature? Watch your back it might eat you." I heard a male voice say with what I thought sounded like a mocking tone.

"Don't say stuff like that." I heard a higher pitched female voice say in the background.

"Just ignore them, if you want to explore the trail you can, if not come back. We have whatever cameras that are available focused on you." I heard a more mature female voice come over the com.

"Alright, copy that," I said signing off then putting the radio into my pocket I began following the trail that serpentined like it had a mind of its own.

It went on for a few hundred feet, sometimes disappearing for small sections then reappearing, like a rope being dragged along the ground and occasionally be whipped so it would jump off the ground for small intervals.

The trail finally led right into a large thick tree, on the tree trunk were large tennis ball sized chunks missing like someone took a large ice cream scooper and started going ham removing balls from the trunk.

While I was studying the odd tree marks trying It figure out what caused this because as much as the shapes didn't look natural the wood looked like the tree grew that way, maybe it happened a long time ago and the tree healed the gnashes to the best of its ability.

Suddenly it dawned on me that this might have been the work of the creature, albeit a long time ago but it's the only logical explanation to these weird occurrences.

Even if it was, what were the odds that these were fresh marks, and the creature was still in th-

 ** _CRUNCH_**

The sound of a very large piece of wood being shattered into wood shavings followed by all of its remains raining down on to my head made my blood run cold, not daring to move a muscle I waited a few seconds for my heart rate to go back to healthy levels, allowing myself to regain my composure in the process.

Taking an ominously slow step back from the tree I slowly looked up, causing any wood fragments that were still on my hair to fall to the ground in a soundless fashion.

My eyes naturally followed the trunk as I looked upward, the tree was tall… really tall in fact for a fleeting second I had the hope that whatever exploded was from the result of some simulated thunderbolt.

But that delusion was short lived as when I got to where the tree branches started sprouting and the leaves grew thick I caught a glimpse of it.

Shiny grey skin stood out from everything around it, two bright red glowing eyes, and a long grey tail… what is this thing?...it's beautiful…...it's… magnificent… it's… GETTING CLOSER!

 ** _THUD_**

My internal thought process went something like that as I stared up at the creature with interest, marvelling at its beauty, then suddenly the creature let go of the tree branch it was holding on to with its tail and dropped into a free fall aiming right at me.

I was barely able to put my arms up, let alone move out of the way. The last thing I remembered seeing was two outstretched arms with sharp claws pointing right at me, two bright red eyes staring right into me with malicious intent and a mouth full of large spiked metal teeth, soon to have the blood of its next victim stained on them… then...

 **BLACK**

"What happened, where's the feed?" Robbie asked Ana as he nervously looked over her shoulder at the monitor.

"I don't know, we had it a second ago then when something shiny dropped from the tree and we lost the video," Ana answered looking around frantically at all of her computers cords and connections for any faults.

"NO… No, Oh dear god, not again… I swore I wouldn't let this happen again, why did I let him go in?... why?" Veronica worryingly rambled out loud as she looked out the observation window into the thick bush.

"Do you think?..." Robbie vaguely asked Veronica with a nervous look on his face.

"What not again? what's going on?" Jonas asked in confusion looking at the two on sporadically.

"No time explain, I need you two to go get the electromagnets, the 2 terawatt ones…if we don't go now, he will die." Veronica ordered as Robbie hustled off to go get the two magnets for her.

"You're going to have to explain once this is all over," Jonas said standing there refusing to move.

"Yes, alright I'll tell everything but right now you need to go get that magnet." Veronica impatiently answered.

"I'm holding you to it," Jonas replied pointing a finger at her as he jogged off to the storage room.

"Ana I'm going to need you to be on the cameras and radio, see if you can contact him using the radio if not keep us posted if you find anything using the cameras." Veronica ordered Ana who nodded in agreement, she then walked away and grabbed a large bolt action hunting rifle.

With the group now dawned with weapons against the metallic creature they opened the bulkhead door and headed

"I just hope we're not too late." Veronica grimly spoke as the three of them ran head first into the thick bush.

 ** _A/N: Chapter one is done!_**

 ** _I hope you all enjoyed this first instalment to this series, if you did be sure to like and love this story, it takes nothing for you to do so and it means a lot to me._**

 ** _Until next time..._**


	2. Entry: A2

**_Drip_**

The faint sound of water droplets hitting a stone surface woke me up to a semi conscious state. Feeling unable to open my eyes I was left unsure of my surroundings, I was however certain that something was not right, everything felt numb and weightless like I was floating on a cloud.

 ** _Drip_**

My head continued to get clearer with every drip that echoed through my head. Now being conscious enough to hear the gentle synthetic winds created by the cells ventilation system, I knew my hearing was returning… My head was clearing from the mental fog and I wanted to recall what exactly lead to my current predicament… but my mind was blank, I couldn't remember exactly what had happened before this.

 ** _Drip_**

As I continued to wake up I started to notice a strong iron like smell in the air… like a rusty pipe, or a battle ground stained with blood.

The feeling of disorientation was slowly ending as I started regaining the feeling of my limbs. I could feel the majority of my blood designing to my head... most likely I was upside down, this also caused a splitting headache to start forming, but on the upside it completely knocked any drowsiness I had right out of me.

 ** _Drip_**

Now fully awake I forced my eyes, it took a few seconds but once they were open I became fully aware of my surroundings… I was hanging upside down by my legs, confirming my suspicion on why blood was rushing to my head.

A smooth cable was wrapped around my ankles, and wrists causing my arms to be held together near my waist… Although I was tied up and forced to hang upside down I felt no pain or pressure spots anywhere, which is very odd when your in any hanging scenario… There are always spots of pressure, always.

 ** _Drip_**

Looking around more I found I was hanging near a tree, it was a large one but this one was near the outer edge of the cage, not in the center where I now recall encountering the creature. Being able to see a faint glimpse of concrete wall not a 100 ft away confirmed my suspicions.

 ** _Drip_**

'Where is this dripping coming from?' I thought impatiently looking around to see where the water droplet sounds were coming from.

Finally my sights landed on a small rock, right below me… it had little red splash marks on it… it was blood, my own bleeding woke me up, but luckily it feels like it's stopping.

 ** _Drip_**

'Alright… If I got jumped, and taken here by let's assume the creature… Then why am I still here? Why am I still alive? let alone tied up and hanging… Am I bait? Or am I just being saved for later consumption?... Or maybe its something else? Maybe someone else is in here...' My thoughts jumped all over the place, but I made sure to remain calm and think things through rationally… Freaking out has never helped anyone.

Taking a deep breath, I craned my neck in a spine cracking way as to get a glimpse of what exactly was keeping me suspended in the air, to my surprise it looked like the tail of the creature.

It was long, seemingly going on forever, as it dangled down a few good meters from out of the impossibly thick leaves of the tree. The colouring of It was a light matte grey, with some glowing pink detailing scattered along the length of it.

It hung there motionless no twitching, no swinging, nothing… It was like it was completely detached from the creature altogether and was left to hang me…

Maybe it is detached? Maybe I'm alone and this tail is just that, a tail, acting as nothing more than a stand in rope. That's certainly a possibility, but given that I know nothing about this thing it very well could still be around, heck it might not even need to be connected to the creature for it to still be of use to it.

The thought of a dismembered alien tail still being connected and controlled by its host made me physically shudder, that sudden movement caused the thin section of the tail that was currently holding my hands in place fall free.

With my hands now free from that section of tail I first ran through my hair and found the cut had mostly clotted, then I worked on rocking my body back and forth until I managed to swing my torso to a position where I was able to grab the fabric of my pants. With my body now in an upright-ish position I reached up to grab and undo the tail.

Just as I was a few centimetres away from grabbing hold, it loosened every so slightly causing me to drop a just a tiny bit, putting it just out of my reach, then it tightened back to what it originally was.

"WHAT?.. WTF?.. why?" I said angrily jerking my legs and body violently in hopes that I would be able to wiggle free.

Nothing.

Reaching up, I came close again… Mere millimeters, but then it loosened dropping me slightly lower than I could reach.

With a new idea, I tried reaching up again with a goal not of grabbing hold, but allowing it to keep dropping me lower and lower, with my goal being that it would eventually run out of ankle to hold onto and thus drop me completely to the ground.

But that idea was short lived as it stopped loosening, and it was all because I had reached my limit, I couldn't stretch any further, my body was maxing out… so much for that idea.

Giving up with a huff I let myself torso drop back to a hanging position, this was not going anywhere. Closing my eyes, I gave myself a second to think… How am I going to get ou…

 **Poke-Poke**

Something warm and squishy gently poked my cheek, interrupting my thought process and causing me to completely lock up.

Opening my eyes with a snap I immediately saw the creature right in front of me, paralyzed with fear and surprise I just hung there staring back, it was also especially confusing because not only was it not there a second ago but to me it didn't look upside down, meaning that it was also hanging from the tree, oddly enough t's long loose white hair remained hanging along its back, as if it were standing normally.

It hung there calmly with its big red eyes fixated on mine, it had its mouth open just wide enough for its long, thin, pink tongue to snake out and lightly graze my cheek.

The creature was not close, it must have been hanging at least 3 ft away from me, but yet it's tongue was still able to touch my cheek with ease.

It continued to stare me right in the eye… When suddenly it brought its tongue back into its mouth with one fluid motion… Never breaking eye contact.

It waited a moment, then started studying my face slowly and carefully, it's eyes were making tiny movements indicating what I suspected. I would have studied the creature to but the blood rushing back to my head made it hard to focus, however not wanting to make any sudden movements I just sucked it up.

After a few seconds of facial studying it's eyes transitioned from its a hostile red to a bright pink, it's tongue came out again but stopped a few inches outside of the creatures mouth… like a dog who keeps it tongue out when panting.

"What... are you?" I asked suddenly to the creature, which in turn reacted quite violently to my sudden speech, turning its eyes back to a bright red, dilating it's pupils, and tightening its grip drastically.

After a few seconds, it relaxed and returned back to normal with its eyes going back to pink.

"What are you?" I asked again, this time in a much more soothing and quiet voice.

It's eyes dilated in recognition but stayed a cheerful pink… Alright i'm getting somewhere, sort of.

Receiving no answer I quietly asked, "can you speak?" It stared at me, giving me no indication that it heard me, except of course for its pupil dilating slightly.

"Are you from space?" I asked again quietly, but this time I got a slight head tilt as my answer, but no facial changes were made.

"Shake your head up and down if the answer is yes, and side to side if it's no." I explained slowly, demonstrating it as I said it in hopes that it would get me somewhere in communicating.

Again it only tilted its head in confusion.

"I don't know what I was expecting… communication? Not likely..." I spoke quietly to myself looking away into the distance.

'No' the creature motioned shaking its head left and right.

Catching it out of the corner of my eye I stared at it confused.

"No… you said no, or motioned it anyway." I said looking it in the eye.

'Yes' it motioned with a head nod, that went on for much longer than it needed to be.

"You, said yes… you can understand me?" I asked completely awestruck.

'Yes' it responded after waiting a second.

"This is incredible, I can converse with it… okay, um… are you going to eat me?" I asked now releasing that all of Jonas's taunts we're starting to get to me.

It stared at me, like it was trying to figure out itself. 'No' it finally answered.

Exhaling sharply in relief, I noticed the sudden noise caused the creatures pink eyes to turn red for a split second…

Taking a second silent deep breath I spoke. "What can I ask that you can answer with yes or no, what gender are you?... Does your species even use genders?" I wondered out loud as put a hand to my chin.

'Yes' it motioned, the answer surprised me a little because I thought this thing was a robot.

"Are you a girl, or female… are you female?" I asked first noting the long hair.

It looked away again for a moment, like it was trying to think, then it brought its attention back to me and shook its head in a 'Yes'... Alright we're getting somewhere.

"Okay, umm… what are you going to do with me." It or rather she just stared, I assume trying to think.

"Oh, sorry how are you going to answer that one… Umm, let's see, can you let me down?.. The bloods starting to rush to my head again."

She looked back at me, and motioned 'No'.

"Well if your not going to let me go, what are you planning to do with me?" I asked confused on her motives.

She again looked away trying to think, but slowly brought her eyes back to mine and motioned 'No'.

'No? What does that mean?.. I'm happy I've got some progress but what does no mean...' I was about to ask when the tail loosened completely from around my ankle dropping me 10 ft down to the floor.

I had barely enough time to react, only being able to put my arms up slightly so that my head would not directly hit the rock that was already stained with my blood.

 **THUD**

I took most of the impact with my arms, as indicated by the incredible pain in the forearm area and the bruises that were starting to form.

Rolling off the rock onto the soft soil I cursed it for being in the one place I had to drop.

Lying there in pain I closed my eyes and gently laid the areas of impact of the cool rock… after what felt like a few minutes I finally got the pain under control, enough to open my eyes anyway and look up at the tree.

The creature, she was gone... Damn...

Sighing in disappointment, I closed my eyes and rolled my head to the side, thinking of how I missed my chance to learn more about this new being… I guess I should be grateful for what I did learn and that I'm still alive… But the feeling of disappointment just wouldn't go away.

 **BOOF**

The sound of a second object hitting the squishy dirt brought my attention back to reality, reopening my eyes and looking over I saw my backpack was now on the dirt laying beside me.

Sighing I closed my eyes again and turned my head away, I got my hopes up… I didn't think I would become that attached in the short time with it, but I needed to know more, I'm so close to a breakthrough... at least I think I am...

 **Poke-Poke**

I felt something sharp lightly tap my forehead, opening my eyes I saw that same grey, and fluorescent pink tail that was once holding me hostage, now right above my face.

Leaning my head back with a small smile I saw the creature squatting with her hands on her knee, her body slouched forward and her long tail snaking out from behind her and resting along the ground around my body, boxing me in within the confines of her tail.

Now that I was not upside down and my blood was flowing properly again, I noticed that her skin wasn't as grey as what I originally thought, it was now a really light grey, like a white that metallic particles tossed onto the surface for effect, and it had almost no reflection to it.

Her eyes were still the same bright pink, but from the angle I was at it looked as if they were made of… pixels, and lenses like a digital optic.

"Your eyes are pretty." I said looking up at her as she continued to lightly tap the center if my forehead with the tip of her tail.

'No'.

"No? What's no… that I find your eyes pretty?" I asked puzzled as she stared at me with a black expression.

'No'.

"Hmmm, so is it that I called them eyes?.. They do look like digit optics so, maybe your species has different names for your body parts." I asked as she leaned a closer putting her face right in front of mine.

'Yes'.

"Well, what do you want me to call them… Optics?.. Seems fitting, but a high possibility people will mix it up." I spoke as I looked into her eyes or optics seeing what I could have sworn to be bits of code.

She stared for a second and nodded 'Yes'.

"Alright, I'm getting up." I said as I started adjusting my body position to best stand up.

However this creature had other plans, as she moved her tail in a way were the length was resting on my forehead. Feeling her skin for the first time I was surprised to feel that it was warm, and flexible like polymer.

I tried to lift my head using force but the weight of her tail kept it planted firmly on the ground. Reaching up I grabbed her tail and moved it off my head, it wasn't heavy, it was light like she was allowing me to move her tail.

Putting her tail gently back on the ground I sat up and turned around to face her.

'No' she shook her head at me, while she moved her tail once again to form a circle around my cross legged form.

"What's, no?" I asked as she continued to stare at me.

Confused I went to stand up, but as soon as I was fully upright she swung her tail with one quick motion knocking my legs out from underneath me, causing me to go tumbling to the ground only for her to catch me with her tail.

"I guess you don't want me to leave?" I asked as I sat on her tail coils in awe at what just happened.

'No'

"Alright I'll stay, but I should message my team and tell them I'm okay." I said reaching towards my backpack.

'No' she motioned baring her large shark like teeth at me, which were caked with dried blood.

"Ok, I'll sit here… no messaging, since I'm here can I take a look at you? I won't hurt you… but I don't think I'm the dangerous one here." I said leaning forward very slowly.

She followed my example and slowly leaned in until we were mere inches apart.

"Do you have a name? I do, my name is Zack." I said looking into her now pink digital optics.

'Yes' she said pointing at her chest and there appeared the words…

Unit: 004

"004, that's your name?"

'Yes'

"Sounds like a serial number, Generic and not unique." I said looking back at her face.

"How about Zero Four as a nickname, at least until I give you a proper name later on." I said and she nodded an affirmative 'Yes'.

She then pointed at me and tilted her head to the side.

"My name is Zack..." I said pointing to my chest as I said my name.

"Za…..Zaa…...ckkk….Za..Zaa…" Zero Four stuttered as she opened her mouth and started speaking.

I sat there looking stunned not only have I been able to communicate with her, using yes and no responses, I've gotten a name, and now a basic verbal response.

Zero Four kept trying to pronounce my name but kept getting stuck on 'Za'.

"Zaaa...zaaa…..ZAZA!" Zero Four exclaimed suddenly interrupting my musings.

"Zaza?" I repeated confused.

'Yes'

"Well it's a start." I said with a laugh as this all reminded me of WALLE and how he couldn't say EVEs name properly.

"Are you from space?" I asked again, now with a streak of answers from Zero Four it would be my best chance to get an answer.

'Yes'. She said her optics turning a slightly lighter pink… maybe indicating a difference I'm emotion?

"Are you trying to go back to space?" I asked wondering if we were keeping her on earth unintentionally.

Her expression didn't change but it seemed like she was looking at me like that was the dumbest question I could have asked. 'No'.

"Well alright then, I think I just thought of the perfect name for you." I said pausing for dramatic effect.

Zero Four leaning in slightly during the pause. "Emmi." I said quietly as to not spook her.

She stared at me for a second. 'Yes' The newly named Emmi answered with what even looked like a smile, well the best she could do with her large teeth.

Emmi stood up and slowly started walking closer to me, but froze when she heard a branch snap off in the distance, her eyes going bright red again, and her tongue shooting out of her mouth with a snap.

"Hey don't worry, it's probably just my team." I said standing up and taking a step toward the noise.

"He has to be this way, there's nowhere else he could be." I heard a female drill sergeant like voice call out as the bushes got pushed away, revealing Robbie, Jonas, and Veronica all running towards me.

Upon seeing me, Veronica raised her rifle on reflex, put upon seeing that it was just me she dropped it and ran over.

"What's wrong with you? Why didn't you answer your com? We searched the entire cage for you? What happened?" She asked going full on mother on me, checking me all over for injuries.

"I…. found the creature." I said looking behind me to look at Emmi, only to find that she wasn't there.

"No you didn't, the fact that your still alive shows you didn't." She corrected me as she began looking at my arms, as I was frantically looking around for Emmi.

"No i'm telling you I did." I argued back as Robbie and Jonas both walked over.

"No I'm telling you, you didn't, the last person to come in here had an encounter and ended up in the hospital… Never to walk again because that thing destroyed his leg, now I don't know what I was thinking letting you come in here alone, but i'm glad your okay." She admitted as she looked me up and down.

"Well I didn't dream up what happened." I said a little unsure kept what happened had actually happened.

"Can you walk?" She asked grabbing my backpack and then taking a glance at my legs.

"Yes, but I'm not sure how fast." I answered taking a step forward wincing a little bit when I put pressure on one of my legs.

"Alright, tell us on the way… we're not safe in here… God why did I ever let you come in here." She said grabbing my arm and guiding me to where they came running in from.

"Well when I woke up, I found that I hanging from that tree, suspended by the creatures tail which was wrapped around my legs… The sound of my blood hitting the rock woke me up… When I regained all my senses I attempted to get the tail off from around my legs, but with no luck… then the creature dangled it self down from the tree and then I established a system of communication using Yes or no head nods… after that she let me down out of the tree and we were communicated more until you guys showed up."

"She?" Robbie asked as we walked briskly towards the living area.

"Yes I learned that this creatures species uses genders and that she is a female, that she refers to her eyes as optics, that she is like a living machine, also her unit number 004… I named her Emmi." I spoke as Veronica kept a firm arm on me as we power walked away.

"Don't worry, Hallucinations are natural when the body is under high stress." She said as she kept facing forward determined to get back.

"You don't believe me?"

"Not one bit, I'm happy your still alive… but what your saying is simply just not possible." She answered.

"Robbie, you believe me right?" I asked as he walked ahead.

"I know your not a lier, never have been… but I think Ill have to agree with Veronica on this one." He said not turning around.

"Of course I'm right, when I was in the military I learned what stress does to one's mind… we need to you back into a safe environment."

Hearing a rustle off to the side I glanced over and saw a tiny portion Emmi pink optics staring at through the thick bushes.

"GUYS LOOK!" I said pointing over to the side.

"At what?" Veronica quickly responded.

Looking again, I saw that Emmi was not there anymore, my yelling must have startled her.

"She was right there, I saw her pink optics." I admitted all confused.

"It's alright, I know it won't be easy for you to understand but this is all in your head." Veronica calmly said as we finally got to out of the forest area and onto the large work area right beside the pod.

The door opened with a heavy chunk and Ana was there to greet us. "It took you long enough, you know how worried I've been?" She said clearly agitated.

"Get in line." Veronica deadpanned as she forced me through the door.

Lifting my leg over the ledge I stepped into the living area, but as soon I put my weight in it I collapsed to the floor with a painful groan.

"Ana, go get the scissors and the med kit… Robbie clear a table for us, Jonas with me." Veronica ordered as I was picked up by Jonas and Veronica.

With there help I got over to the now clear metal table. "Ok, you can do your check up, but your not cutting my clothing." I said as I took off my shirt while myself on the cold metal table.

"Pants too." Veronica said with an emotionless tone that left no room for arguing.

Sighing in defeat I took off my pants and laid on the table with only a pair of boxers on.

Veronica went to work checking everywhere for any injury, bruising or abnormality of any kind, Ana joined to help to after grabbing a stool to stand on, as soon as she saw me she blushed a bright red that would have put Emmi's optics to shame.

When they got to my upper area, they both gasped in shock… making me jump in place as it was rather sudden.

"You have marks all of your chest, like someone wrapped a rope around you and pulled you along the ground, maybe you weren't all crazy… but I still don't think you had an encounter."

"What do you want, a stamp or a little note? I saw the creature and it wasn't hostile, In fact she was rather sweet." I spoke as Veronica was touching the area wher the marks were.

"Ok, let's say for a second that I decided to believe you… Which I don't by the way, but let's just say for argument's sake that I don't think you were hallucinating, how would we even believe you? Do you have any proof?"

"Yes, look at my body… and if that doesn't prove it to you, I'll go back in an show you… she didn't hurt me, or at least not intentionally… and she's really smart to."

"I want to believe you, I really do but I just can't… not without some proof." Veronica said with a sigh as she layer a hand on my muscular stomach.

"If I can just go back in I ca- No, your not going back in, not yet anyway… your going to wait a few days, maybe even a week… as long as it takes before your all better." Veronica spoke with a whip like tone interrupted me mid sentence.

"Your overreacting, this isn't that bad… I've had worse." I said looking up at the two who were doin there check up.

"It true, you wouldn't believe all the stupid stuff he's done over the years." Robbie cut in.

"Ok you, shut it." Veronica said pointing a finger at Robbie without looking at him.

"So muscular." Ana said as she started poking my abdominal muscles.

"I'll be fine in a day." I spoke up interrupting there checkup, making both of them look at me.

"No, this is going to be a long recovery." Veronica said turning away.

"No, I'm serious I'm a fast healer." I argued back.

"I wouldn't, your going to lose this argument… just accept it." I heard Ana whisper towards me as she pretended to check out my forearm.

"Alright fine, if you feel your fine I can't stop you… but, does it hurt if I push here?" She asked as she pushed with decent force into my ribs.

Suppressing the pain, I mustered up a wimpy looking smirk and replied. "Nope, no pain at all."

"Uh huh, I see… Ana show me his forearms." She responded with a serious face, Ana moved my arm to face her and she looked at how the entire forearm was black and blue from bruising.

"And if I touch here?" She said pushing two fingers to the bruise.

"Never better." I said closing my eyes and gritting my teeth in pain, throwing my head back onto the pillow Ana put there earlier in the process.

"That's what I thought, your staying put and taking it easy even if I have to belt you down to your bed to do so." She said pulling her rubber gloves and walking away.

"You good?" Ana asked leaning over the table.

"Never better." I responded with my head still on the table, paralyzed with pain.

"How are you so strong?" Ana asked again looking at my upper torso.

"I don't know… exercise, I think." I answered a little unsure, still scrambled from the pain.

"Do you think you could train Jonas? He wants to get stronger… and seeing how he gets embarrassed when he's around Veronica he won't let her train him, also Robbie isn't that athletic… I was wondering if you could?" She asked leaning over putting her hands on my chest for balance.

Not realizing what she was doing, I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to suppress and painful groans that came out, she must have realized eventually because of the deep rumble coursing through my body.

"Sorry." She apologized quietly as she stood back up straight.

"Here cowboy, just take it easy." Veronica spoke up as she walked back over with my sweater in hand, as well as a cold beer.

Helping me up, I threw my pants back on and tossed the loose sweater over my torso, with no shirt… then I limped over to the couch and just sat and drank my slow poison in silence.

It was awkward for everyone else, but at the moment I just needed a second to think about had happened. I actually talked with it, no her… This creature that no one else had clue about, I had actually met and communicated with.

Eventually Jonas and Ana came over started watching their show again, they tried to ignore it but the fact was that I looked like I had just come out of a war.

Eventually they finished there tv watching and went to bed, Veronica and Robbie did the same leaving me to sit and ponder everything in an eerily silent, pitch black room.

It was clear that none of my teammates were able to sleep with them knowing what I was going, every 5 minutes they would open their door with a silent click to check on me. And every time they did all they saw was the back of slumped over hoodie wearer.

After an hour they all joined together in Robbie's and Veronica's room for a little chat, they were in there for 10 or so minutes… during there little meeting I dozed off a little.

"Zack….. wake up." I heard Ana say as I opened my eyes, was it morning already.

"You have to go to sleep." I heard the muffled voice of Veronica say.

"Just let him sleep here, it's not like we could move him… dudes like the hulk." I heard a male voice joke, not sure however if it was Jonas or Robbie.

I felt a series of hands push me over onto my side, then what felt like a blanket get placed on me.

"Well leave him be, if he wakes up he'll probably just go to his bed." Was the last thing I heard before everything blended together into darkness...except for one thing, two pink orbs of light…

 **Clang**

Shooting up to the sudden sound of a glass bottle ringing, I woke from the best sleep I had ever had.

Looking around in confusion I found myself lying on the couch, in a mess of pillows and blankets. Wearing nothing but a pair of barely done up slacks, an overly large hoodie, and a pair of boxers.

Wondering why I didn't go to my own bed I sat there and looked around the ghostly quiet room waiting for the drowsy feeling to completely leave me.

The cages artificial sun was shining brightly through the observatory window as it rose to the sky, hitting an angle where the light reflected off the table landing straight in my eye, it gave the illusion like I was outside.

Getting up I folded up the blanket and put the pillows back to where they originally were. Then I picked up the empty beer bottle and stared at it wondering why I was the one who has it, shrugging it off as one beer I limped over to the kitchen area.

The pain was still present but much better than it was last night, grabbing an apple I silently walked around the place checking on the two rooms, sure enough they were all asleep, but they looked like they all had rough nights… weird.

Pulling my boots over my sockless feet I took my small snack of a breakfast and ate out on concrete work area of the cage, the birds were singing and it took a lot of active thinking to remember that this whole place was artificial, and most likely somewhere deep underneath a mountain.

The air was crisp and clean, making it refreshing to sit and eat… Eventually however my apple was gone, so begrudgingly I went in and made myself a proper breakfast, being extra sure to not make a sound.

After a few minutes of ingredient preparation, cooking, and clean up I walked out of there small but well equipped kitchen with a tray full of eggs, bacon, fryer potatoes, toast, an assortment of fruit, and a can of non-carbonated orange juice.

Reemerging to the cages patio of sorts I started eating, in the back of my mind I hoped to see Emmi again, but at the same time I had the suspicion that I wouldn't seeing how large the cage was, she could be anywhere.

The air was now slightly misty indicating that it would start raining soon, the weather system in here although random changed so often that it would hit every major weather cycle at least once per day.

I decided I would stay out until the rain started pouring, finishing up the main part of my food I placed the tray next to where I was sitting and cracked open the can of orange juice.

A few sips in I heard rustling of the leaves a few yards away, having the suspicion of who it was I decided to stay out and see what would happen.

Sure enough a minute later I heard another rustle, this time right in front of me, waiting again I finally saw a metallic head pop through the foliage.

"Zaa...zaa…" She slowly called out as she cautiously stepped through the plant wall which kept the work area and the cage ecosystem separate.

She took a few slow steps, slowly putting her foot down on the concrete like it was the first time ever walking on such a surface.

Eventually she got used to this new floor, and slightly skipped over to where I was sitting her long tail being dragged along the concrete.

"You got me in a lot of trouble, why'd you run off like that… And now they all think I'm crazy." I spoke as she sat down on a section of her tail letting the rest of the length snake around I around me.

"Hello, your not even listening are you?" I asked as I saw her attention was fixated on the empty orange juice can in my hand.

"You want this?" I asked shaking it a little in the air, her optics firmly locked on the bright orange can.

She nervously reached forward and grabbed the can snatching out of my grasp when she had it firmly in her hand.

"What are you going to do with that? Eat it?" I asked sarcastically as I saw Emmi was looking at the can with interest.

She glanced at me and then back at the can… pausing a second she opened her mouth up wide and popped the whole thing into her razor sharp mouth.

Closing her mouth, she started chewing the can with ease, with the faint sounds of metal being crushed coming from her closed mouth.

All I could do was stare at her in shock.

When her little appetizer was over she began eyeing the metal tray as well as the silverware that was sitting on it.

Leaning to the side I grabbed the fork and offered it to her, she leaned in on my hand and stared at the fork which was mere millimeters from her face.

She eventually opened her mouth and brought It down on the fork, and MY HAND!..

I closed my eyes and braced myself to feel my hand get pulverized by her massive teeth and pulled off, but it never happened.

Instead I felt her tongue pull the fork out of my grasp then she let my hand fall free out of her mouth.

"I thought you were going to take my hand for a second." I spoke with relief, as I moved my hand around, Emmi in turn just sat there eating her fork, completely oblivious to what she just did to me.

"Zaza..." I heard her cute voice speak up, bringing my attention back to Emmi she was looking at me, expectantly.

"I'm not giving you anymore metal… I think you've had enough." I spoke as she narrowed her optics at me, and stood up… she took a few small steps toward me and sat right back down.

She was now at least half a foot away from me, and her leaning in only brought her face closer.

"Za….. Za…" She said slowly putting as much emphasis on each Z.

"Yes... I don't know what you want?" I asked completely confused at what she wanted and and why she was so close.

"Za… Za….." Emmi grumbled again, this time sounding impatient.

"I'm sorry Emmi, I don't know what it is your asking for." I admitted looking away briefly.

She furrowed her optic ridges into a frown, and continued staring at me.

Hesitantly I reached my hand out and placed it on the top of her head, closing her optics in response to my touch she started… Purring...

Petting her surprisingly soft hair she sat there purring heavily causing the reverberations to course through my arm, swinging her long tail back and forth along the concrete floor, causing deep scrape marks to appear.

"Emmi, your tail…" I stated in shock as I wondered what was happening to her tail, opening her optics she lifted her tail and showed me the underside of it, taking my hand off her head I reached out and grabbed her tail to see for myself.

Her tail showed no sign of abrasion or wear.

Putting her tail down I focused my attention back to the impatient looking alien.

"Incredible, your skin sustained no damage, despite the scratches that you created in the concrete." I spoke as I went to rubbing her head.

A few minutes in her tail started curling around my lower torso, and the longer I rubbed her hair the tighter it got.

"I'm not allowed to leave, am I?" I asked with a smile, already knowing the answer.

'No' she shook her head without opening her optics.

"Yeah, I figured as much… you know soon or later I'll have to show you to my team, there good people." I spoke as I closed my eyes and sat happily in her tail like hug, stroking her hair.

'Yes' I felt her head nod slightly with my hand.

 **o0o**

"That was a rough night." Veronica groggily spoke as she and Robbie exited there room with a yawn.

"Did you guys sleep at all?" Ana asked walking out of her room with Jonas dawned with a black robe over top her pajamas.

"No, I slept light in case he needed anything." Veronica said stumbling to the kitchen in search of coffee. "Who put this pot on?… Was it you guys?" Veronica groggily questioned as she walked of the kitchen with a steaming cup of coffee.

"No we just woke up, like you guys… I too slept very light." Ana admitted while reaching her arms up and stretching with a yawn.

"I wonder where he is?" Robbie asked looking at the couch to see the blanket neatly folded up and the pillows properly arranged.

"He's not in his room." Jonas added taking a peek into the third room.

"Then where?..." Veronica pondered as she looked around slowly, her vision immediately landing on the sliver of a light coming through the edge of the cages bulkhead door.

"No, I swore I told him to not… When I find I'm going to cut his legs off, then belt him to chair." She spoke with heavy anger present in her voice as she began marching toward the door but a hand on her shoulder stopped her in her tracks.

"Honey, just wait a second." Robbie calmly spoke to his girlfriend putting a gentle hand on her shoulder, halting her pursuit to the door.

"WHAT? NO, you know just as well as I do on where your friend went off to… despite what I deliberately told him." Veronica spoke with a whip like tone, as she spun around and started directing her anger at her boyfriend.

"I'm, sorry… I just don't want to see him get hurt, well anymore than he already is." She responded her attitude hitting a 180 going all wide eyed, realizing that she just yelled.

"It's alright, and I have a feeling that Zack is doing just fine." He spoke putting his arms out for a hug.

"We still need to look for him though, remember he's still injured." She admitted in a calm relaxed tone, leaning in for the hug.

"Whoever put this pot on knows how to make coffee." Jonas spoke as he walked back into the main room with two cups, one for him and one for Ana.

"Why is the cell door open? Did you guys just open it for some fresh air or… WHOA GUYS LOOK." Jonas explained pointing out the observation window.

The ledge was to high to see anything that wasn't at least a good meter away, but regardless a clear patch of brown hair was visible just over the edge.

Letting go of the hug Veronica turned and walked to the window and saw him sitting cross legged along the wall, with the creature sitting beside him.

"What? So he wasn't crazy… it's there, and he's alright… it's sitting with him… WHAT?..." Veronica stood talking to herself as she looked out the window and observed her coworker and the creature conversing.

"Who is this person, is he a demi? Like a telekinetic?...I've heard they look just like humans." Veronica desperately asked as she turned with a snap to Robbie.

"No he's full human… but I believe his sister might be half mermaid." Robbie responded back with no hesitation, despite the rather scary personality his girlfriend just took on.

"I'm going out there." She concluded by turning towards the door and grabbing the submarine like turn handle.

"I recommend waiting, this seems to be going well for him… Our presence will only disturb them." Ana voiced in between her coffee sips.

"Fine… I'll give him 5 minutes, but that's it." She impatiently huffed as she grabbed her cup once again and sat down at the table pushed right up against the viewing window.

 **o0o**

"O...Ora...nn..ggg...eeee."

"Yes, you got it!... But I wonder whether you took more away from my teachings, or from the words on the can you just ate." I asked ecstatically as Emmi stared blankly at me.

"Alright maybe I should teach you some more gestures… it'll make it easier to communicate." I finished by putting my hand to my chin, which Emmi immediately copied.

"Well, that one is like a thinking position, it shows everyone your in thought and thinking of an. answer." I told her as she began nodding up and down.

"Ok, this one is for when your unsure…" I said shrugging my shoulder and putting my arms up, which Emmi copied once again.

"Awesome you got it, ok… This one isn't really a gesture but pointing at objects is a good way to show what you want, or what your trying to point out." I said pointing at Emmi who didn't copy this time, but simply nodded in acknowledgment.

Leaning back smiling at the unexpected progress we were making, I noticed that Emmi was now pointing at my face.

"What?" I asked unsure.

She brought her clawed hand closer and was pointing directly at my mouth, "What about my mouth… Oh a smile?... A smile is what you do when your happy." I spoke as she tried smiling, but given her large it was a little difficult for her, after a few tries she successfully smiled in a rather cute way. "A frown, or a scowl is the opposite to a smile." I added demonstrating a frown.

"Your a really fast learner, okay the last one I'm going to teach is thumbs up and thumbs down." I spoke gesturing each one to her which she tried in turn.

"Thumbs up is for showing a good job to someone, or if your happy, or if you just want to say thank you… thumbs down is disapproving, and is if you want to show that someone did something you did not like… they normally go with smiles and frowns." I told her what they each meant as she repeated the action getting the hand motion down to memory.

We were both staring intently at her hands as she moved her thumbs about to get the thumbs up motion, it was clear that this was not natural to her despite her opposable thumbs.

Eventually she looked at me and gave me a double thumbs up, with a wide, closed optic, toothy smile, the whole thing was so cute that it made me blush immediately, it was like something right out of an anime.

Sadly the moment ended as she reopened her optics and went back to staring at me with wide optics.

"I've got an idea, since your such a fast learner… I think you would really benefit from like a rush of information, more than these small lessons I can give you… " I recommend as she looked at me.

She brought a hand to her chin, waited a moment then gave me a thumbs up.

"Alright, I'll go get my laptop." I spoke as I attempted to stand up, but Emmi wasn't happy with my decision as she reached out with both hands and grabbed a hold of my forearms in an attempt to keep me from leaving.

My arms were still black and blue from last night, but were hidden from view underneath the sweaters fabric, and true I did have some time to heal overnight, but that didn't mean I had healed fully. My arms were still raw and throbbing, they were just pushed out of my mind from the amazing process Emmi was making.

Emmi's subsequent grabbing of my injured arms especially with her strong, sharp-clawed hands caused me to recoil in pain pulling my arms out of her grasp in the process. Stunned, because I forgot about my injuries I stood there for a moment gritting my teeth in pain.

Emmi must have sensed that something was wrong because she stood up and skipped over to where I was standing doubled over in pain.

"Zaza?" She asked looking up to me from her 4 ft stature, as she grabbed the loose fabric of my pants, gently tugging.

"I'm fine, I just need to get some ice." I said with clenched teeth as I stood back up to full height and walked through the door back to the living area, pulling out of her grasp in the process.

"Man that hurt, she didn't mean it… she didn't know... She didn't mean anything by it." I spoke to myself as soon as I was inside the room, with closed eyes and began carefully rubbing the area to dissipate the pain.

"She seemed nice." I heard Ana speak up.

Opening my eyes I saw the team before me sitting at the table that was pushed up against the viewing window, each of them drinking from their respective coffee mugs.

"Oh, haha… When did you guys get up?" I asked nervously.

"A little while ago…" Veronica answered with her voice trailing off towards the end as she stood up to refill her cup.

"How much of that did you see?" I asked as she walked right towards me, and not towards the kitchen.

"Enough…" she answered again in the same tone less way, as she continued staring at me.

"I can't tell if your mad, or not."

"Me neither…" she responded moving herself closer, rapidly closing the distance between.

Veronica was about the same height as I was, maybe an inch shorter at best, she, Robbie, Jonas, and I were all about the same height… although Jonas was definitely the tallest.

"Look I know I went against what you said…" I started to say as an apology, only to be cut off with a "Yes you did." From Veronica.

"But I'm ok… sort of."

"No your not, I saw the creature which you've named Emmi hurt you with just a light touch… purposely or not your still injured, and you need time to rest."

"I'm not going to tell you to not go back in there, because I know you'll do so anyways and I don't want to waste my time… I'm just want you to wait before you go back in with your laptop." She spoke with a sigh of defeat as she put a hand on my shoulder.

"How did you know I was coming here to get my laptop?"

"The door was open, and you weren't very quiet." She answered with a smirk as she began walking to the kitchen, Robbie getting up and hoping her in the small room.

"Ok, why do you want me to wait?..." I asked as I walked over to the table to take a seat.

"We just wanted to ask a few questions… none of us can believe what you've done… and if it seems by our reactions that this is common occurrence to us, it's not… we're seriously confused, so we just want to talk." Ana answered as she turned to face me.

"But what about Emmi?" I asked glancing out the window to see her sitting by the door, expectantly.

"Don't worry about her, she's not going anywhere… and plus she can wait just 15 minutes, can't she?" Ana asked, putting her hand on my shoulder this time.

"I guess…" I responded in a pathetic way, trailing off at the end.

"Ok, fill us in on everything." Veronica spoke sitting down with Robbie, notebook in hand.

"Ok, first off… Her skin is a white metallic, very durable as her tail made those large gashes in the concrete." I started by pointing at the area through the window.

"Her skin is made out of soft polymers and her hands have 5 fingers, and each of them have sharp claws attached to the tips, her feet are like ours, with five toes but she walks on the ball of her foot, her heel never really touching the ground… like a raptor." I spoke as Veronica wrote.

"She seems to be a mechanical creature, with her eyes being colour changing optics, and bright pink detailing spread out all throughout her body, her white hair also doesn't seem to affected by gravity because as when she was upside down her hair remained normal… Her unit number is 004, and at the time I called her Zero Four."

"like Darling in the franxx!" Robbie spoke up.

"2018 just called they want there easy target back… OH, She also eats metal, I gave her my orange juice can and a fork early this morning, and she ate it with no problems." I continued as Veronica eyes widened slightly at my mention of eating metal.

"I wonder is it can eat organic food?" Veronica questioned as she peered up from her notebook.

"Maybe, we can try later… and she is also crazy intelligent, learning how to speak and communicate with me in the span of barely a day."

"But she can't speak…" Jonas brought up as he sat in the couch a few feet away from the rest of us.

"Having the ability to speak does not make a creature intelligent, you of all people should know that." I said sarcastically as we all looked at Jonas.

"Jonas dear, maybe if you join us you'll learn something." Veronica spoke up, again as the mom of the group.

"I don't think she's a Demi thats already here on earth, but she seems to be an advanced form of automaton, maybe we can just class her under automaton Demi's?" Robbie brought up.

"No I don't think so, maybe when we learn more but for now she'll just be classless… maybe I can ask for her species name, or if not I'll just make one up."

"That might work, the asking part… making up the species name sounds dumb." Ana piped up.

"Technically I discovered her, so I can name her what ever I wish... She is also very strong, that's all I know so far… but I would like to go and learn more."

"Well, That is actually really helpful… I'm sorry for not believing you last night."

"It's fine, I'm just happy with the progress I'm making."

"We all are." Veronica spoke with a proud mother tone in her voice.

"Ok, I'm gonna grab my laptop and th-" **BOOF**

A muffled glass sound interrupted my line of thought as we all slowly turned and looked out the observation window.

Emmi was standing there, just tall enough to peer over the concrete lip and stick her long tongue out to tap on the glass.

"She's awfully cute." Ana spoke up, ending the silence among us.

After a few seconds Emmi moved and lifted herself up using her tail as support.

 **BOOF**

Another muffled glass sound was created as Emmi hit the glass with her open palm and kept it there for a few seconds.

Having the urge I put my hand up as well and pressed it up against the glass... Why do I suddenly feel like a character in an alien movie that's about to die?

"I don't think she's dangerous… I think we should let her in the living quarters." I said turning to the group.

"Are you crazy? I'm happy with the progress your making and how Emmi's behaving, but I cannot allow for you to bring her in here." Veronica asked in disbelief, throwing her notebook onto the table top.

"Why not, if we keep her on a tight leash then what could go wrong… and we could get a lot of work done if she's in here." Robbie reasoned as he leaned in and put a hand on his girlfriend.

"What? No we're not bringing that thing in here, for all we know this is exactly what this hyper intelligent creature wants, maybe it wants to get in here to kill us." Robbie piped up from the background.

"I think if she wanted to, she already would have done so, given her strength… and even if she didn't have enough strength don't you think she would have taken advantage of the open door, and our lack of awareness toward it?" Ana spoke gesturing toward the door in the process.

"She's right, it's stupid but at the same time it makes sense… I think this would be our best way to get answers." Veronica agreed.

"Ok, I'm going to let her in." I said as I stood up.

"If she tries anything we're putting her back in the cage." Veronica added as I was up just about to push the hatch open.

"That's fair." I spoke in agreement as I opened the door.

"God I hope this doesn't go badly, don't make me regret this Zack." Veronica spoke gettin up and walking towards the kitchen.

"Emmi! Come here I want to show you something." I called out as I stepped back into the cage.

Emmi in turn skipping over to me, and standing right before me. "Come on, I'm taking you into our living area… I want you to behave, because I told my team that you could be trusted, and if your good my hope is that you won't have to stay in the cage any more."

Emmi tilted her head in confusion, and waited a moment before she leaned forward and hugged my legs with her arms and tail alike.

"Ok, I think you understand… now let's go." I said gesturing through the door, which compared to the cell was rather dark.

Emmi approached the door opening, and took a moment to look inside it… she then lifted her leg over the concrete lip and took a cautious step onto the floor, upon contact to the tile she flinched and slightly brought her foot back, but after a second she brought her foot back down and stepped into through the door.

"There you go, I'll leave the door open if you want to leave." I spoke calmly causing her to jump slightly, bringing her attention to me she looked out the door and gestured 'Yes'.

"Well come on, no one here is going to hurt you." I said walking past her, as she was studying her new surroundings thoroughly, her sights landing on my teammates but only lingering for a second before moving on.

"Like we could even put a dent in that thing." Jonas piped up from the background.

"Oh hush, just watch… She's beautiful." Ana quickly followed up, mesmerized by her.

Emmi spent around a minute looking around, but oddly seemed to freeze up when she landed her sight on Veronica

"Emmi?" I asked breaking the silence, and snapping her out of daze and directing her attention towards me.

She walked slowly and cautiously toward me, dragging her long tail over the lip of the door and along the tiled floor, but this time she held her tail in a way that the tiles weren't being destroyed or damaged.

"Ok, let's get to work." I spoke up as Emmi stood right in front of me.

"What's first?" Veronica asked as she approached the two of us, Emmi slowly moved for everyday step she took and ended up hiding behind my legs.

"We could get some physical measurements down, then will see from there." I answered as the team went off to get the required gear for our tests, leaving me standing there with a terrified Emmi behind me, her shaking was an indication.

Upon them returning with all sorts of measuring tapes, scales, and weights they moved to start, but Emmi was not moving.

"Um, why don't you guys give us a minute." I spoke as I placed a gentle hand on the top of her head.

"Inside your rooms, I meant." I spoke again as I noticed that they did nothing but take a step back, this time they nodded and all went to there rooms.

 _Click_

"You sure are a timid one." I spoke looking down at Emmi when we were alone, she looked up and loosened her grip slightly on my legs.

"Hey." I said turning around and kneeling down to her level, "it's gonna be ok, if you want I could be the only one who'll do the measurements, but I will need at least one another to help write stuff down."

'Yes' she nodded, then pointed at Ana and Jonas's room.

"You want Ana to help?" I asked assuming it to be the case over Jonas.

'Yes'.

Standing up I walked over to the door and knocked on it, "Ana, I need your help with data logging, Emmi is only ok if I'm doing the measurements and if you log it." I explained as she opened the door.

"Sure… That's fine with me." She hesitantly answered as she stepped out and closed the door behind her.

"Ok I want to do the basic measurements first, then we can just take a break… I don't want to bore my test subject, especially since I told her I wanted to show her some stuff on my laptop." I explained as I grabbed a tape measure and took down Emmi's height and tail length.

The whole process was rather boring and time consuming , eating up the majority of our day, so I'll save you the trouble of having to read every detail and just tell the juicy bits. The only really noteworthy things that happened with the measurements were that we learned Emmi was 4 ft tall, weighed 150 pounds not counting her tail, and 300 counting it. Her tail could also extend to a max length of 14 ft or to a minimal of 3, her tongue also could extend to a max length of 3 ft… Emmi had also become a lot more comfortable around Ana, even to the point where when Ana asked to touch her tail she allowed her… After 30 minutes I called out the rest of the team to help, and although Emmi was a little jumpy at the beginning she eventually calmed down and warmed up to teams presence.

Around lunchtime Robbie and Veronica came out of the kitchen with a platter of sandwiches, with all of us being starving we ate and learned soon after that Emmi could eat organic foods, but doesn't really like the taste of pickles.

At the end Veronica came over to congratulate me for the progress I made, thank me for helping out her team so much in the little time I was here, and apologize for not believing me the other time. She hugged me and it caused Emmi to go full battle mode.

While doing the measurements Ana accidentally dropped a beaker causing Emmi to turn her optics to a fire red, as well as causing part of her tail to ignite into a white burning fire, and the part that wasn't ablaze was protectively wrapped around my torso… luckily she calmed down after a few seconds and let me go, but we all silently agreed to never test out her 'battle mode' as we called from that point onward it.

Anyway, when Veronica hugged me we got the exact same reaction from Emmi, even the part were she wrapped her tail around me and pulled me away from Veronica's embrace.

From that we learned that her tail could easily move around 200 pounds as evident with how easily she was able to move me, we must test her full strength later on, perhaps by lifting a vehicle of some sort.

The evening ended on a positive note, regardless of what happened with Veronica's hug, and we all ended up watching tv… Emmi made sure to sit on my lap despite my efforts to move her, with her tail completely strangling me as all 14 ft wrapped me head to toe, Robbie of course couldn't help but compare my current predicament to the scene with Miia the Lamia strangling her host in bed, from an old tv show that had Demi girls in it.

Her affections have been increasing exponentially towards me, I think it's just she's known me for the longest but maybe it's more than that… I'll say that more studying will be required to know for sure.

All in all it was a good day we learned a lot about Emmi and her still unnamed species, her intelligence has been clearly demonstrated by her cooperation and her behaviour, our mistakes are that we keep thinking of Emmi as a creature rather than an intelligent being. Although her inability to speak fluently is a a bit of a hindrance she has proven that she might even be smarter than humans by the speed of her learning, and the unique and clever ways she overcomes the language barrier.

"That went well." Ana spoke up as we all sat in a comfortable silence as we watched a family friendly comedy show, we didn't want to show her anything that's she could pick up some bad habits from.

"Your telling me, I can't believe the progress we've made, but it seems almost too easy..." Veronica responded as she looked over at me who had Emmi sitting on my lap, watching the screen intently.

"Yup, Zack you did us proud, you did what would have taken us probably weeks in the span of just 2 days… I still can't think of a way to thank you." Robbie added looking my way.

"It was a fun, I would do it again… wait is that a subtle hint you want me off the team?" I asked as I wrestled to get the tip of Emmi's tail away from around my mouth.

"What? No, your a part of this team until the day we're shutdown…" Robbie quickly explained.

"This all feels surreal, I agree with Veronica this all feels a little to easy." Ana spoke up over the relatively quiet tv.

"We don't even know why she came to earth… Accident, or maybe something bigger." Jonas piped up.

"Guys, just be happy for what was accomplished and stop trying to build suspense for the reader… Just relax and watch tv, we did good for today." I spoke up with a sigh, giving up on trying to wrestle Emmi's tail away from my face.

We all watched for a little while longer, but eventually exhaustion took over us, causing us to start to fall asleep on the couch, well all except Emmi, who kept keenly watching the show that was playing, comfortably seated on my lap.

Getting up I moved Emmi so that she was now sitting on the couch still watching the show, and I started heading for my room, but not before Ana and Veronica told me they had to do there daily check up to see if my injuries, and how I was healing up.

"Wait, before you head off we need to check to see how your healing is going." Veronica called out just as I was about to enter my room.

"Fine, do your thing but make it quick… or else your going to have to carry my unconscious body to my room." I wittily replied as I took off my shirt and lay on the cold metal table.

"Pants to…" Ana spoke up with a face red from embarrassment as I lay face up on the table.

"Not this time, the major injuries are primarily in his upper half." Veronica said correcting her friend, I myself resisting the urge to make a joke about Ana wanting to get my pants off, instead I just lying there in silence, Veronica seemed to be waiting for such a joke to be cracked but it never came.

They went ahead and did there checkup, in my eyes it was pointless as the worst that I had were some nasty bruising… after a few minutes I heard Emmi stand up on the couch, diverting her attention to the my two nurses, and their 'patient'.

She got up and walked over to the table, now completely ignoring her tv show.

"Hey Emmi." I spoke as I had my head craned over the edge of the table watching her, looking intently at me… Following a few seconds on intense staring she promptly collected the length of her tail under her and used it as support as she lifted her body to the point where she was looking down at me on the table top.

At this point it was clear to me that neither Ana nor Veronica were doing there job, instead they were keenly staring at what was happening before them.

Her tongue snaked out of her mouth slowly and rested gently on my cheek.

"Do you like the taste of human flesh?" I joked as I stared up at her, getting a small chuckle from Veronica.

Emmi snapped her attention to the two others at the sound of Veronica's suppressed laugh, immediately her eyes went red and she opened her mouth and started hissing at them… both Veronica and Ana flinched when this happened, as it was very unexpected and out of the blue.

"Emmi chill, there just seeing how I'm healing up, from my incident with you." I spoke as my voice calmed her down and brought her attention back to me.

She lowered herself marginally, and brought her tongue back into her mouth with one smooth motion. Her face was now an inch away from mine, and she seemed to be staring into my eyes with the intent to stare into my sole.

"Emmi, what are you doing?" I asked as she continued to close the gap between our faces.

 **Bonk!**

Emmi's forehead was now firmly pressed against mine, keep in mind I was holding my head up as it was dangling over the edge, so holding it there was very difficult, especially for the duration and now the added weight.

"Emmi, that's enough." Veronica spoke up practically reading my mind.

"Jesus, get a room, just don't do that out here." Jonas spoke up from the couch area looking over.

Emmi seemed to perk up at what Jonas just said, like she just got an idea because almost immediately after that she wrapped her tail around me, picked me up, and walked over to my room.

"Emmi wait, put me down." I said frantically as my being held high in air by her tail, with no problem whatsoever from Emmi.

She listened and put me gently put me down.

"Is she staying in my room?" Ana asked peering in.

"It makes the most sense, since she's the most comfortable around you… or if you don't want her to be with you she can always stay the night in the cage." Robbie answered.

"No, it's ok she can stay with me." I answered.

Sleeping was certainly an Issue, figuring out were Emmi would stay… I offered to sleep on the couch and let Emmi use my bed, but her intelligence proved greater than we all thought as she grabbed me with her tail once again, and dragged me inside my room… I expected her to move to the bed but instead she just yawned, then promptly laid down and immediately started sleeping right in the middle of the door frame, her tail curled up around her sleeping body.

It was such a strange and sudden thing to witness leaving me and the rest of the team to just stare in wonder, I knelt down and tried to wake her up to tell her to move to the bed, but with no success.

"Well, she certainly fell asleep fast." Robbie spoke as we all were staring.

"Should we try and move her?" I heard Ana speak up.

"No, she's two heavy… I think if she wanted to sleep in the bed she would have." I answered her with a sigh.

"I'll just let her sleep there… she'll keep the door from closing but in other words it won't affect me." I said walking to my nightstand stretching and yawning in the process.

"G'night guys." I said as they parted to there own respected bedrooms.

"So odd." I repeated to myself as I stripped down to just a pair of boxers and put on a fresh change of clothes.

Entering my bed I took one last glance at the sleeping form of Emmi who had the main room behind her, the light from the cages artificial moon leaked into the room illuminating parts of it, giving the whole place an eerie feel to it…

Closing my eyes I could hear the low rumble of the cages simulated thunder through my bed, barely vibrating my bedding… The feeling of sleep washed over me, as I felt content with the progress I made this day, wondering what tomorrow would bring made my mind wander until eventually…

 **BLACK**

 ** _Chapter 2 is out! Been writing like crazy to get this one finished, and it's what 12k words? Phew don't expect another update for at least 3 weeks._**

 _ **If parts of this chapter seemed like they took an odd step,** **especially Emmi's ever advancing awareness and intelligence... its because writing her progression from beast to Demi is a bit of slippery slope, it happens really suddenly... it's not because of my writing it's the character I wanted her to be... I designed Emmi to be the cute and innocent one, and thus day one upon meeting him she's pretty much done her character development.**_

 ** _Anyway, next chapter will be relaxing... Mainly just filling you in on any details I feel are important, bits of Emmi's appearance, her ablilties, and Zacks extremely vague family... but because it won't be a major arc don't except it to be another 10k it'll be what it'll be._**

 ** _Chapter 4 will properly introduce her species as a whole, and it all has to do with another pod crashing to earth, this time with a non corrupted drive._**

 ** _So remember to like, love, follow, and review... if you enjoyed and want me to feel loved... :)_**

 ** _Stay tuned._**

 ** _Tuned..._**

 ** _...ned..._**

Pink…. Orbs….. Pink…..Pink… Optics….Neon…..Pink….Bright…..Optics…..

Bright…. Pink... Lights…. Shining…. In…. my…. Eyes

"Emmi, what are you doing?" I asked still asleep as I sat up and to see large pink eyes at the foot of my bed.

"S...Sle...eeep… wiffffff….. Zaa…...Zaaa?" I heard a ghostly quiet voice speak, as the bright orbs changed shape slightly, and dimmed considerably.

"Uh, yeah sure... " I said unsure of what I just agreed to.

The two pink orbs bobbed up and down as they made there way to the side of my bed. Glancing at the clock I saw it was an hour past midnight.

"Why are you waking me up this early?" I asked as Emmi stood at my bedside, dimming her optics further when she saw that I was still straining to look at them.

"Emmiii…..lonelyyy…" She stuttered as I motioned for her to hop in as I lifted the blankets.

"Sure, but in the future you can just come sleep, you don't need to ask." I assured her as she climbed into bed, but not in the way I was expecting… Instead she pushed my pillow out of the way and plopped down in its place, then using her arms she grabbed my head and gently laid it down on her stomach.

"Your warm." I spoke barely awake, as I started to feel low rumbling purr emanating from her.

The last thing I remembered was her tail wrapping snuggly around my legs and torso before and her arms reaching down to hold the sides of my head, then…

 **BLACK...**


	3. Entry: A3

"...Can't...still….asleep…..10:3-..."

"...Should…..wake…him?..."

"...No…need…..let….. rest….."

"...They'll…have…to… wake… eventually…"

"Just… leave… them…. be… we.. don't.. need them at the moment."

"But…"

"But nothing, now come and help me make breakfast… it's the least we can do, in return for all he's done for us."

"Big deal, he went into the cage like a dumbass, got lucky and now Emmi is like his personal pet… And why the hell did he name her Emmi? If it happened to me I would have gone with a real ferocious name… like, Anika or Scarlet… not a cute name like Emmi, he just lucked out."

 ** _SLAP_**

"Ok, first of all, you didn't go into the cage regardless of the ample opportunities you had to do so… Second Zack went in with full knowledge of the risks and although he may have got lucky a major factor was his personality and the way he dealt and diffused the situation, you probably would have just ran away or started crying, so it might have been luck or just the way he rolls… And third, he got to name her whatever the hell he wanted because he's the only one here that had enough balls to go and do what needed to be done… I also think Emmi is an adorably fitting name for her… So just shut up, stop bitching and stir the damn eggs."

The voices that were nothing more than muffled background noise, were quickly becoming clearer and louder with each passing second. Waking up with a jolt I began looking around the room as I lay face up on my bed.

Blinking the sleepiness away from my eyes, as my arms refused to move I found myself smack in the middle of conversation that was clearly not meant for me to hear.

"Oh, you asked him here to help and now he's the center of attention… what about us, Ana and I have compiled teraflops of information and what have we gotten? Nothing, not even any recognition." I heard what I believed to be Jonas yelling.

"It actually wasn't that much data… Jonas, sweetie, calm down." I heard a timid female voice speak up in between Jonas rants.

"You did more work than you give yourself credit for, the fact is we would have been just fine if Zack wasn't brought here." Jonas continued.

"Jonas, that's enough, shut up and grow up… I asked Zack here not to put you in the background, nor to praise his holy ass but to get some out of the box thinking on a problem that was above all of us… now if you can't behave we'll kick you out… or better yet if you feel like he's taking your place, square up with him, I'm sure he'd love to go a few rounds." Robbie spoke with intensity that was completely out of his character.

"Jonas, whats gotten into you?" I heard Ana timidly ask.

"It's… it's the stress, new guy shows up, better than me in every way, steals the spotlight, and what I fear most…" Jonas admitted.

"It's fine, we all have those types of moments where our pride gets the better of us and we think or act irrationally, the best one can do is try to relax, sometimes that could be going to the shooting range or smashing a bunch of plates." Robbie suggested while going back to his usual fatherly tone.

"What did I just wake up to?" I quietly asked myself as I lay there in confusion.

"Your right, I misspoke sorry guys… maybe later I'll go get some fresh air from up top." Jonas spoke again.

"Hey it's not a problem, just be glad you didn't say that directly to him." Robbie added with a slight chuckle at the end.

"Oh yeah, I definitely wasn't supposed to hear that conversation." I spoke again as forced my arms free of Emmi's embrace, hearing her squeak in protest to my sudden actions.

With my arms free I lightly tapped Emmis forehead which happened to be right beside me, causing her to open her optics in annoyance at me.

"Hey, good morning Emmi… it's time to wake up." I quietly spoke into her audio sensor as she lay her head right beside mine

"Nooooo…" She cutely whined as she pushed her face plate up against my cheek.

"Emmi wake, you lazy ARCTiCa…" I spoke as she slowly closed her optics again.

Now you might be wondering, why the heck did I just refer to her as an ARCTiCa? or why she decided to speak instead of just shake her head… Well, I kinda forgot to log yesterday's work… it just slipped my mind, but don't worry nothing big happened and anything noteworthy I'll just tell you straight up since it's fresh in my mind… That and this is the best way I could think of on introducing the name I gifted to her species.

Since the first time Emmi slept with me two days ago she has made a habit of acting as my pillow, and her tail acting as my blacket… she's like a large cat, that's always curled around your head, except A CAT DOESN'T TRY TO SQUEEZE YOU TO DEATH WHILE YOU SLEEP…

Ahem*

Okay… snuggling… Here's the long version, she won't sleep anywhere else than with me, and is extremely lazy in the morning… I also took the liberty and gave her species a name, since no one else had one and writing 'the creature' in our logs was getting so repetitively annoying, it just had to stop.

I chose the name ARCTiCa and it's not a random name it's actually an acronym… despite what my team continues to say about it. It just happens to spell out Arctica.

It stands for (Advanced - Robotic - Creature - Technologically - Intelligent - Cybertronic) Automaton subspecies.

To be honest was it my best work? No, but does it deserve to be dumped on CREATIVELY?.. I don't think so, but the name reminds me of the TARDIS from Doctor who, and is anyone dumping on that?... no, no there not.

Again my team thought it was an odd choice but, I discovered her so technically I get all the naming rights… You know what, I'll just show you what happened.

 **Flashback: 1 day ago**

"I hope we get a name for her species soon, it's starting to become a pain to write 'the creature' over and over again in the logs." Ana spoke up as we all sat in the media room, each of us doing our own thing

"Emmi, does you species have a name?" I asked her as she looked up from her colouring book and at me.

"..." She stared blankly at me with her mouth open slightly, as if she immediately knew the answer then promptly forgot it.

I also heard her cooling systems turn up a notch with muffled click as the hum of her systems increased in volume a tiny bit.

"I'll take that as a no, I don't need you straining your processor over such a simple question." I interrupted Emmi's thinking as she smiled at me and promptly went back to colouring in her book.

"That still doesn't answer the question of what we're gonna put in the logs." Ana reasoned with her.

"What about ARCTiCa?" I asked somewhat out of the blue.

"That's stupid…" I heard Jonas pipe up.

"It's a bit of an odd name, why did you pick it?" Ana spoke up interrupting whatever Jonas was about to say next.

"I've been thinking of names for the past little bit, and I've landed on this one… It's also an acronym, and it sounds cool so I figured why not?"

"But why ARCTiCa? Emmi isn't even an arctic sub species… Arctic types have been extinct for years if you haven't forgotten and having a name like that could give the wrong idea of what she is." Veronica asked as she looked up from her book briefly.

"Well what about harpies? There not actual harps, in fact they physically cannot even play the harp… It's just a name, and since I discovered her shouldn't I be the one to name her?" I replied returning the glance.

"I guess you're right, you did discover her so you should get naming rights… And referring to her as an ARCTiCa could be a little… interesting." Veronica agreed with a sharp exhale.

"What does it stand for?" Ana asked as she continued staring at the sight of Emmi adorably sitting and colouring.

"Well…"

 **Present**

And that's pretty much what happened, I know not overly exciting but that's how it happened.

Of course I asked Emmi for her thoughts, but all she did was shrug in response, then promptly went back to her colouring book. Any objectors can leave and go and find their own species to name.

I'm sure that every person, or species ever to be named had a lot of thought put into it, because if you think about it EVERY name you see sounds like something else, and nothing's original anymore...

Okay back to the recap; The team and subsequently Emmi have become very comfortable around each other and in other words get along quite well, but for some reason Emmi does not like Jonas… And for the life of me I can't figure out why?... I also went about and gave Emmi a bath as well as brush her scarily sharp teeth, now clean from any dry caked on blood… After cleaning her up I chose to clothe her with one of my shirts, no only did it make her look adorably cute, it also brought up the underlying fact that she's been naked the whole time, no one said anything before because of her skin level armour plates that covered everything important, the faint lines on her skin outlined such areas… but I guess for all we know she might not even have those parts, she isn't human after all.

And that's pretty much what happened yesterday, nothing special… Maybe it's a good thing I didn't log it, would have boring to read…

"Emmi wake up, did you just fall asleep again?" I asked as her face was now pushed up against mine and her systems were lightly humming.

"...no….." She quietly groaned in a cute way.

Also, side note… Her vocabulary has grown dramatically, I'm guessing it's mainly from watching television, but for some reason she still can't form complete sentences. It's no big deal because she can usually get the point across in the few words that she chooses. I think I'm just expecting to much of her, seeing as this is only her fourth day on Earth.

"Emmi wake up." I spoke louder this time, as she squeezed her optics closed in protest.

"No!..." She argued back.

"How can you be this lazy? You have a power core that has the equivalent energy of a small star… Whatever I'm getting up." I spoke as Emmi's optics shot open blinding me with bright pink light in the process.

She opened her mouth and started hissing at me.

"Emmi I told you, hissing and threatening does not get you what want, how do you ask?" I spoke with a strict tone as Emmi subsequently backed off.

"...Don't go… pleeease…..your warm…" She spoke with a sad tone, as she leaned in and rubbed her cheek against mine.

"Sorry Emmi, but it's 10:45 we gotta get up… If you want you can wear my sweater, it's been on the heater so you'll be nice and toasty." I spoke as I sat up, leaving Emmi sitting on the bed

"Okayyyy… riiide?..." She reluctantly agreed as she too sat up and latched on to my warm back.

"Fine I'll carry you, but you have to lighten your tail or your going to end up crushing my skeleton or something like that." I joked as I felt her grip a little bit tighter in response.

"I never asked, but does cold effect you or is it just preference that you like to stay all warm?" I asked I reached over and grabbed the toasty hoodie off the heater.

"No… it… preference…" She answered in a choppy sounding response as I motioned for Emmi to sit in front of me, she climbed over the bedding and sat obediently in front of me.

"You know there are actually some Demi's in the world that can't survive unless there really warm, like lamias or arachnids you should feel fortunate that your not as delicate." I told her as she put her arms up and I slid the toasty warm hoodie over them and onto her body.

"Demi's?... what…those?..." I heard her ask in a muffled way as her head was inside the main body of the sweater.

"Demi's are intelligent creatures hybrids that were either at one point in time full human or full animal, but due to a genetic virus that transformed about half of the human population into human-animal hybrids that have unrivalled strength and physical abilities, they look like humans that have extra animal like physical features on them… In Fact there were even some Demi humans in the show you were watching yesterday, anyway it's a big topic, one that I alone should not be teaching you, I'll get the team to help explain it to you over breakfast." I answered her as I took in the sight of Emmi wearing the hoodie.

"Emmi smart, she understand." She responded as I stood up and got dressed with my usual clothing and almost immediately after I was done I felt a steaming hoodie wearing alien latch onto my back.

"You are extremely smart, but to be honest it's mainly for the readers… I have no clue what the average brain functionality is like in the year there reading this, but I'm guessing it's pretty low… So it means I have to explain things really carefully or I risk frying there brains." I thoroughly explained to my passenger as she happily hung off my back and body, her hands and feet locked gently around my shoulders and hips, and her tail snuggly wrapped around my stomach… Emmi made extra sure to avoid touching or putting pressure on the spots that were still healing, mainly because of what Veronica scared her into believing that my limbs would fall off if she hurt them any further.

"Oooooh…" Emmi humed in acknowledgment from behind me as I opened the door and left our room.

"Hey you guys, sleep well?" Veronica greeted us with a chipper smile as she leaned out the kitchen doorway.

"We did, even if one of us still acts a little tired… Wow it's late, why didn't you guys wake us up?" I responded as I heard a disapproving grunt come from my lazy passenger.

"What was happening earlier this morning, some kind of commotion?" I asked pretending to be oblivious.

"Um, nothing happened, just harmless chit chat… Why do you ask?" She asked with attempted suppressed wide eyes.

"Woke Emmi and Zaza up with… Taaalking…" Emmi grumbled in a grumpy way.

"Don't be rude." I spoke as I reached my arm back and pulled the hood over her large head, a surprised chirp coming from behind as I did so unexpectedly.

"Sorry about that, we should have kept ourselves in check…" Veronica apologized as she turned around and glared at Jonas in the process.

"No it's fine, it was 10:30 after all… we should have been the ones already up, and what's that smell… It smells amazing!" I spoke shrugging off the incident and instead diverting the conversation to what I knew the four of them were working on.

"We've been making you breakfast, everything you and Emmi like… We're even making flying saucer shaped pancakes!" Ana happily exclaimed as she to poked her head out of the kitchen.

"Oh there's no need for that Ana, regular pancakes will do just fine." I justified as Ana rolled her eyes and promptly went back to work, disappearing from view.

"That's really nice of you guys… can I help?" I asked as Veronica looked at me in shock.

"Of course not, just go sit down and wait… it'll be done in a few minutes." She spoke matter of factory, pushing me towards the main table before turning on a quick heel and returning to the kitchen.

"Don't get used to this, life doesn't normally act like this." I spoke jokingly as I shot an accusing finger over my shoulder at Emmi.

 ** _Nom_**

Emmi in turn responded by swiftly bringing her mouth down on and around my finger and started sucking on it.

"Eww, Emmi don't do that… As adorable as that was I'll let it go, but do not do that to other people, they'll find it a bit, off putting." I explained to her as I slowly slid my finger out of her soft wet mouth and shook it dry.

Glancing back I saw Emmi staring back at me innocently, the large hood still on her dome, obstructing part of her face from view.

"But I guess I should just feel fortunate that you like me so much, or else you would have bitten it off altogether." I spoke again as Emmi's optics became sad and she started whimpering.

"Emmi will never hurt Zaza… Zaza's Emmi's, hooman…" Emmi whimpered as she climbed a bit higher and pushed her head against mine.

"...*ack*…so cute…" Ana choked as she, Robbie and Veronica all peered out the kitchen doorway.

"Great, now we have audience… proud of yourself?" I asked Emmi, while shooing them away.

The group came out a minute later and began setting up the table for the days most important meal.

Mere minutes later and the whole table was set, filled to the brim with fruits, breads, eggs, bacon, and pastries… We all sat down altogether and began eating.

"You know I'm so glad your all eating with me and not just watching me." I said with a joking tone as I started putting food on my plate for Emmi and I.

"Why would you worry about that." Ana asked as she to started loading up her plate.

"Well one time, I was invited over for dinner for helping to fix up a friends, parents roof and what happened was they made dinner but they didn't eat with me. I ended up eating alone, while the parents were either watching tv, or cleaning up there kitchen… ever since then I've had a fear of that exact thing happening again." I answered her as I saw Emmi reach down from my shoulder to grab some toast.

"Yeah that's definitely weird, why though would you think that we would do that to you?" Veronica asked with suppressed laugh.

"Because the son of the parents friend who I helped out is among us, as we speak." I spoke slowly cryptically stretching it out the suspense for as long as possible.

They all turned and looked Jonas.

"What? No, it's Robbie… I didn't even know that Jonas existed before this, I'm shocked that you guys forgot that before this this I only knew Robbie." I corrected them all in shock, as "I thought it was very clear…"

"We knew…" Jonas spoke up as they all started laughing at me.

"Dang it, I knew your straight faces looked to straight to be straight, don't ever play poker with me, you could bet my soul right out of me." I said in joking disbelief as I reached back to give Emmi a muffin, which she happily accepted.

"If it wasn't for me being such a nice guy I could have bet his whole house off him." Robbie joked as he dug into his food.

"Yeah we'll that didn't stop you from taking my vintage Ferrari."

"Yeah no it didn't, you barely drove it any ways so what's the difference?" He asked with a shrug.

"It was a showpiece, you don't drive works of art… you just don't." I playfully argued back as Veronica looked over at him in confusion.

"Is that where you got the ferrari from?" She asked in disbelief.

"I told you I got it from a friend, I didn't lie… did I?" He questioned her as he looked over.

"Well no, more like you didn't tell the whole truth… Do you want it back Zack?" She disappointedly asked while looking first at Robbie, then me.

"No it was just a show piece, I restored it from a wreck that happened in the early 2000s, it meant nothing to me, really… It was just a good hobby that lasted a few years, If you guys drive it then you deserve to keep it… it hurt me to never drive that beauty. But that's enough about that old car, it's ours now… Don't ever think about giving it back." I finished talking as Emmi started leaning over my shoulder to take a bite of what I currently had on my fork.

"She seems very comfortable around you." Ana piped up as the 4 of them watched in fascination.

"Yes, comfortable enough to blatantly steal my food." I sarcastically spoke, causing Emmi to stop her pursuit to my food and instantly retreat to once again hide behind my shoulder.

"But it's good, the progress she's making… I think she's well on her way to becoming legally registered as a Demi, I only wonder what will happen when this is all over… will the government take her or will she will she just stay with me?"

"Who knows? Don't stress about the future, but seeing how attached she is to you right now, and how this isn't even her first week here I don't think they'll be able to take her away from you." Robbie brought up.

"And who would want to separate the worlds cutest couple? That would just be a crime to do so." Ana spoke up as Emmi peaked her bright pink optics over my shoulder.

"I doubt this will even catch the attention of the government… She'll get registered and no one will bat an eye, right now all there attention seems to be focused on electing the leaders that will be the head of Earth." Veronica spoke mid mouthful.

"An election? When was this announced?" I asked curiously as I looked up from my plate.

"Like a few years ago… have you been living under a rock this past few months? It's been all over the news." Jonas spoke up as he pointed his fork at me.

"Yeah, a group of 40 individuals half human and half Demi will be come the head representatives of Earth, with space travel only a few months away from being commercial they felt it was necessary." Ana patently explained.

"That sounds like a bad idea having the whole world ruled by only 40 people."

"Did you not hear what I just said? There to be representatives for Earth, in actuality they'll only have a little more power than let's say you or I." Ana said in a huff.

"Oh, I get it… that makes a lot of sense, truth be told I haven't been following it… at all, but I don't understand if this is all for if they have a confrontation with aliens then why would they ignore having one crash to Earth?" I admitted bashfully as Emmi started playing with my shirt.

"Because they still need to form the team, then they'll have time for smaller things… I believe there starting the whole process, today? I heard that they'll be streaming it live so the whole world can watch, and rightfully so this is our representatives that will be chosen." Veronica answered without looking up from her plate.

"We should watch it, it might be interesting… And maybe informative on what Emmi really is." Robbie suggested as all of looked at each other and casually agreed with him.

"But we're keeping the name, right?" I asked in a child like.

"Well, if she gets attention from the government there's no telling what will happen, but for now, you can keep it." Veronica answered in her usual motherly manner.

"Yeah that makes sense… Oh that reminds me, So earlier this morning I mentioned something about demi humans and extra species to Emmi and it seemed to peak her interest so I told her that I'd explain it with your guys help."

"Why bother? They'll explain it later in the election… I don't see any point explaining now when it'll just be told again." Jonas spoke up as Ana just shook her head in disagreement at him.

"He has a bit of a point, but if this is for exposition then it probably should be done now when there's not a whole lot going on, regardless if it's going to be explained later." Veronica explained

"I guess I'll start…" Ana began.

"Well like all Demi's they weren't here to begin with, science brought them all into existence… during the year 2021 a group of scientists created a virus that attacked all animals on Earth, if the virus first attacked a human then later on an animal of some kind, the result was that the animal would have gotten human characteristics carried over and thus would have became a demi human, with unrivalled strength and abilities… The same would have happened if the process was reversed, animals gave humans there abilities and attributes making them as well into Demi's… Many thought a war would have broken out, but for whatever reason nothing happened and everyone eventually just got used to the appearance of these new creatures…" Ana explained slowly as Emmi zoned out complete and started napping on my shoulder.

"Emmi… Well I guess this is more for the readers than anyone else." Ana added is mild annoyance.

"I think the reason a war never started was around 2019 and 2020 feminism and all that equality stuff was really at a peak, so when Demi's started popping up people stopped fighting about who got paid more or who was which gender and they started working on how to live with these new intelligent creatures." Jonas suggested honesty.

"I thought it was because most of the Demi's were originally human, and had no ill intentions towards humans, Yeah it was true that everyone feared a war but the worst they demanded was just bigger housing and clothing…" Veronica spoke, adding her opinion openly.

"At the beginning there were many obscure types that have, sadly, gone extinct mainly because they couldn't reproduce enough to keep the species going, leaving only the basic ones on Earth such as Lamia, Harpies, Centaurs, Arachnids, Canines, Felines, Mermaids, and Minotaurs… Of course every so often there is a new species that becomes stabilized, but those are really rare, recently it's been arachnids… I'm happy that my moms species won't be going extinct anytime soon." I added to the exposition pile as Emmi lazily opened one of her bright pink optics at me.

"Wait your moms an arachnid? since when?" Robbie asked in confusion as he stared at me.

"Uh yeah, more on that later… we're kind of in the middle of telling the reader all about the Demi's that inhabit this Earth." I retorted back with glare.

"Anyway… Only the regular types of those species remain, so no more mersharks or deer centaurs, or any of those kinds… Nothing bad happened to them they just died from natural causes and had no children to replace them. Most of it was mainly due to the virus burning itself out, two years after its initial release… and during that time any new Demi's that were transformed ended up being less and less pure versions of the full Demi's, my sisters one of those… again more on that later. Then last year in 2024, the virus officially died and no more new Demi's were able to be created, I mean other than the traditional means of course… At this point in time whatever demi species that exist now, are the only ones to exist in the foreseeable future." I ended out of breath as Emmi yawned and perked up to full attention.

"There have also been some scientists who have tried to create other types of Demi's... like humans with telekinetic powers or with metallic skin, apparently the test subjects experienced no changes whatsoever… but some say that they've seen some with the ability to levitate small objects, so maybe there's more to the myths then people actually know?" Veronica spoke adding to the conversation.

"Well breakfast was fantastic, and Ana those flying saucer shaped pancakes really tied the whole meal together." I said with a satisfied clap of the hands as Emmi tried to do the same, but with a little less success.

"But I didn't, when you told me to… I just made, regular pancakes…. Oh, pancakes are shaped like flying saucers, clever." Ana responded in a confused manner as she tried to wrap her head around all of it.

"Hey Zack, since we have a light day ahead do you think you could help me do some training?" Jonas asked quietly in a demeanour complete out of his character.

"Hey that sounds good to me, but I will only help if we do this outside."

"Yeah, outside does sound nice…" he quietly agreed.

"And I want to take Emmi with me…"

"No, she stays here… I just don't think she's ready yet." Veronica warned.

"Ok Veronica, let me rephrase myself, I'm taking Emmi outside with me and that's that. She might not seem capable to you but to me she definitely is… Oh while we're at it do you guys want to join us?" I retorted adamantly.

"Some fresh air could do us goo- Actually I think it would be good if you and Jonas could get some training in without being distracted by us, we'll join you after your done for some sun." Robbie spoke but was quickly cut off by Veronica's whip like tone.

"Go do your thing, well clean up and join you guys when your done." Ana spoke as she started collecting the empty plates.

"Alright, Jonas why don't you go put on something you feel like working out in, and remember it's probably really hot out there, as were in the middle of a shadeless field… Shorts and t-shirt should do just fine." I instructed as I too stood up from the table and began walking to my bedroom… Jonas doing the same.

"...thank...you…" Emmi quietly thanked as she hung off me.

"Your very much welcome hun." Veronica motherly responded as Emmi went back to pushing her face into my shoulder.

"...*ack*… she so cute… I'm so jealous that Zack has a cute pet like her." Ana huffed as she puffed her cheeks out.

"I don't think that there relationship would fall under one of master and pet, I think that boyfriend and girlfriend is more fitting." Veronica corrected as she and Robbie continued to clean.

"Like ours." Robbie proudly spoke.

"No, you are definitely my pet… we are not on equal footing here." Veronica spoke coldly as she walked of into the kitchen.

"Such a kidder." He said with a slight laugh.

"I wasn't joking." Was the cold reply he got from the kitchen.

"We shouldn't be to long." I told the others as both Jonas and I walked out of our respective rooms and started moving to the stairs.

"If you want to get strong then you should climb these stairs over and over again… it's like what? 5 stories worth, so yeah do that like 10 times and that would be a decent workout." I optimistically said as we started ascending the steps.

"Yeah, I would be lucky if I got 2 in, let alone 10." He jokingly admitted with a sharp exhale as we reached the top.

"You'll get there soon enough." I told him as I started to spin the large wheel to open the door, 10 full turns later and the door slowly creaked opened.

 ** _CREAK_**

When we got outside we were immediately blinded by the bright sunshine as the sun crept over the tree line and mountain peak.

"It's pretty out here… especially at this time of day." Jonas piped up as I heard Emmi start to purr.

"It is indeed… I've only been here what? 4 days? and i've already forgotten what it feels like… I can only imagine what it's like for guys, being stuck in there for weeks at a time."

"Hell… It's hell…" He quietly answered as he stretched his arms out to soak in as many rays of sun as possible.

"If you want we can just hang out in this open field, talk and get to know each other, I feel that's something you and I haven't been able to do as of recent… And when we're done I'll make you do a few push ups, so you don't feel like we wasted our time."

"Call me lazy, but I would really love that…" He said with closed eyes as his whole tanned face was illuminated by the sun.

"Yeah, I don't think your the only one who wants to do that." I responded as Emmi was looking over my shoulder, longingly for the for the warm grass covered sun soaked ground.

Now with the both of us, (plus my Emmi backpack) seated or lying on the ground we immediately fell into an uncomfortably awkward silence between us, leaving us both to just watch Emmi's antics.

Emmi had hopped off and was now belly down studying the grass, at least that's what I thought she was doing until she sat up with a jolt and turned to face me.

In her sharp metallic hands was a small mouse, curled up in her palm and shivering in fear.

"Zaza… look…" She spoke as she inched herself closer to me while at the same time on her knees.

"You caught a mouse, good job Emmi!" I said as Emmi brought her face closer to hands to inspect the little white creature she just caught.

"Mouse…" She slowly pronounced as she brought her face to eye level and continued to stare at the terrified rodent.

"Yup, they're pretty common in this part of Earth… I think you should let it go before you terrify it to mu-"

 ** _CRUNCH_**

Was the sharp sound that echoed as she shoved the small mouse into her open mouth with one fluid motion. The rodents thin hairless tail dangling lifelessly out of Emmi's mouth in the process.

"EMMI! You can't go about eating anything that can fit inside your mouth, It's just common sense… you will not eat anymore creatures that you find, unless I say so… and furthermore-" I started to strictly discipline Emmi but I stopped when I saw her pink optics start to get all wet with a clean fluid of some sort.

"I'm…sorr...sorry…" She sputtered as she opened her mouth to let the mouse carcass fall out of her mouth into her hands, and began crying quietly.

But it wasn't a mouse carcass that landed in her hands, it was the mouse alive and well… Yes, terrified to the very core and covered in Emmi's saliva like lubricant, but still alive.

She put the little mouse down off to the side and began weeping into her clawed hands.

"Oh, sorry Emmi… I didn't know, I shouldn't have yelled at you, I overreacted and I'm sorry." I apologetically said as I held my arms open.

Almost immediately she lunged into my open arms and began crying clear lubricant into my shirt.

"That certainly escalated quickly." Jonas spoke with mild shock as he the grass slightly ruffle as the little mouse ran away from its predator that just showed mercy to it.

"Yes it certainly did… for an advanced alien she is incredibly sensitive." I replied as I started stroking her long hair, causing her to calm down enough to look up briefly at my face, then immediately go back stick her face into my chest.

"Your really good to her, I can't think of a single other person that would be better to take care of her." He continued as he rolled on to his back to soak in the sun once more.

"I think my sister would probably be just as good at taking care of her." I answered back without looking up as I continued to gently stroke her hair, hearing light purring coming from her robotic systems.

"Your sister? The one that's apparently half mermaid…"

"Yup, did Robbie tell you?" I asked back as I to rolled onto my back.

"Well he said it was a possibility, and over breakfast you said something about your mom being a Demi as well… care to explain?"

"Shouldn't I wait and tell this with the whole team?"

"Nah, remember it's for the reader… if the reader knows that's all that matters."

"Right… this is all for the reader." I agreeably exclaimed with a snap of my fingers as Emmi tried to copy my action once again this time with promising success.

"If you tell me about your family, I'll tell about mine." Jonas bargained with a sigh that hinted of a painful past.

"Well… when the virus was released in 2021, all my siblings were already born, this is important because remember a demi can only give birth to a child of the same species as her, that and all of my siblings are different species, with the youngest being just a few months old at the time… First to turn was my mother which happened to be into a giant arachnid, who stands at 9 feet tall, next was my father who was turned into a wolf, and also happens to stand somewhere around the same height as her… they can be a bit scary when you first meet them, but they're both really caring, loving, parents…"

"So your dads a wolf, and your moms a spider… interesting, did they get any of the personality traits that are usually present in the species?" Jonas questioned as he rolled his head to face me.

"Yeah, my mom likes to hunt and is now kind of sadistic using her webbing to sometimes tie people up, and my father also got some of the wolf predatory instincts in him, but he keeps those under lock and key… regardless there both really great around my younger siblings, and only really act in such ways when around me or my oldest sister." I answered as I felt Emmi roll off my stomach to once again play in the grass.

"Sounds like a fun household."

"Yeah it honestly is… My youngest sister, who is now 5 became a Lamia when she was just about a year old, and man did that make life difficult, she was always really cold and we constantly feared that she would die from it… Eventually we used electric blankets and that made it alot easier."

"So how many siblings do you have in total?" He asked when I took a break to breath.

"3 total… Natalie is the 5 year old lamia, Aiko is a harpy and is currently 11, and my eldest sister, Coral who just turned 19, is half mermaid."

"Half mermaid? How does that work?"

"She became a Demi in the last few months of the virus, and as you know there were many cases of half Demi's who's mutation went wrong and they just couldn't survive, but luckily all my sister got were some gills, fins and scales on top of her human body… she can still walk and breath on land, and with the small fins as well as her webbed hands and feet allows for her to swim incredibly fast, all while being able to breath underwater… sadly though for whatever reason she grew to be taller than me, clocking in at 6 and ft… so now I'm the shortest in the family, excluding my youngest siblings of course, heck even Aiko is getting near my height… and to think she used to always perch on my shoulder when she was small."

"Sounds like quite the family, how was it when you parents first mutated?"

"At that time I had just moved out, so I wasn't there for the beginning reaction… but after a few days they called me up and I went back home to help everyone out… it's funny my youngest siblings were so scared of there spider mom for the longest time, with dad they were fine because to them he was there great big doggy… But mom looked terrifying to them, she had the usual arachnid look, 6 legs with 2 bipeds and a big abdomen, blacked out chitin armour and 6 glowing red eyes… But there was just something about her that made her so much more, menacing than any other arachnid you would come across, maybe it was her sweet motherly personality that would flip almost instantly into that of a predator or just that she acted a little to kind for an arachnid, she never hurt anyone mind you and the worst that would ever happened to someone was that they would be tied up for a few minutes, but still…"

"So how'd it all work out?" Jonas sincerely asked as he and Emmi both rolled over into their stomachs to listen, well maybe not Emmi, she was still playing in the grass.

"Coral and I took the news quite well, of course there was the initial shock followed by a little bit of fear of her but that quickly went away and we were both fine with her, it also helped mom a lot because we were both old enough and big enough to take her antics, and at the time she had an insatiable urge to hunt and trap, but since she knew she could not ever do it with the young ones we often found ourselves stuck in her webbed traps. Dad would often be at work leaving the three of us to hold down the fort and taking care of the young ones… The first few months were especially hard, because both Aiko and Natalie needed constant help from their mother… Natalie would cry when mom would pick her up and try to feed her and Aiko tried to stay as far away as she could from her, it broke her heart to see her children acting like this… and often you would hear her crying in the bathroom… Eventually after carefully exposing the kids to her bit by bit, Coral and I were able to get the two young ones used to there spider mom… now they absolutely adore her and her silky hugs. All was good for a time and mom just wouldn't stop reminding me everyday how much it meant to her, what we did… yeah, it often led to me being tied up and hugged ferociously, and this was around when Aiko became a harpy." I finished with a desperate inhale of much needed oxygen.

"Well, what happened next?" Jonas asked like a little kid only hearing part of a story.

"Well now that my large family was becoming even larger with the addition of one large arachnid and one large wolf, and pretty soon one large harpy… They needed a bigger place to live in, the halls were barely big enough for my mom to sneak through as is… so I searched about and after using the governments Demi housing program I found a large plot of land with lots of open space right next to a nice lake… the only problem with it was that it had no house on it, it was just land, so me and a hired crew built them a magnificent house that could handle the needs of any Demi that were to live in it…"

"Well, that's good isn't it?" Jonas asked with a hint of suspicion.

"Yeah, of course it is… why do you ask?" I responded with an arched eyebrow.

"Well, you sorta trailed off a little there at the end, as if something popped into your mind last second."

"Right… your very perceptive, anyway yes… Although it was great having the big roomy house, with lots of air space as well as water access… Aiko at the time had not learned to fly, this was mostly due to her parents not being flyers so she had no one to encourage her… I tried to help the best I could and over time with the help of a few other harpy friends she had learned to get off the ground briefly, but so far she has yet to fly… and that kind of worries all of us."

"I see, well I'm not a harpy so I can't really give advice here." Jonas joked with a light chuckle as he rolled back to facing skyward. "So it sounds like although your whole family got hit with a real curveball you all came out on top…" Jonas added with a smile.

"Yeah, it's great that my family was able to sort themselves out… but actually right now I'm the one in the family that's causing the difficulties."

"What do you mean, are you giving your spider mom troubles?" Jonas said with a smirk as he rolled his head to project it at me.

"Kind of… It's a little annoying because I'm the only human left in the household and thus means I am significantly weaker, and smaller no matter how hard I train and exercise… I guess I should feel fortunate that none of my siblings or parents are mean to me… because I tell you, it would be SO easy for each of them to hurt me, or even kill me… don't get me wrong we've had our fair share accidents, like when Aiko actually dropped me off the roof of our house or the time when Coral swam too deep without letting go of my arm… There were a few more incidents involving Natalie almost crushing my neck with her tail and my mothers silk actually breaking my wrist after a went wrong, yeah it all ending with a trip to the hospital, and a firm talk from my mother to the rest of the family that they need to be more careful around me… I tell you, you should have seen how paranoid she was after that, she wouldn't even be around me out of fear of hurting me more… yeah life's an adventure with them, but I wouldn't have it any other way, it also helps that I don't live with them anymore and I just visit frequently."

"But not all Demi's are overly strong, in fact most are significantly weaker." Jonas voiced while picking at the grass near him.

"I guess… every being is strong in their own aspects, like Aiko can't really grip anything tightly with her winged hands, while I can and although moms spider legs are slightly weaker than mine she still has her chitin armour making her scary sharp to touch… I can't tell you how many times she accidentally sliced me open with her sharp hands, I guess because she's so much larger than I am that kind of puts her at a disadvantage in smaller buildings and spaces, but with almost every place nowadays demi friendly it's an issue that's hardly ever brought up."

"Well I think it's really fortunate that you were all able to workout your differences and stay together in what sounds like a really loving family." Jonas said long fully with a sharp exhale.

"Yeah I guess were fortunate, but just because there's a lot of good stuff to tell doesn't mean that we don't have our share of family troubles… like coffee for instance which my mom is heavily addicted to makes her drunk almost every morning, my dad believe it or not has to be brushed somewhat often and Aiko absolutely hates getting her feathers wet… making it a royal pain getting her to bathe in anything that isn't sand… despite everything though I'm just happy that dad stayed with mom when she first became a spider and he was still human… I heard of a family that apparently split up after the wife turned into a feline." I jokingly added as I glanced down to see what Emmi was up to.

"Yeah, hehe… funny you should mention them… because… that's my family…" He mournfully said as he slowly sat up.

"Oh, hey I'm sorry… you don't have to talk about them, I know it must be hard… in fact if you want I still haven't told you all about Coral, my eldest sister."

"No, it's fine… a deals a deal."

"No really, you don't have to tell… I didn't tell you everything because it was part of a bargain, I did it just because."

"Thanks…" He replied with a slight smile that was being flushed of all past pain.

"I should take you and the team to go meet my folks one day, they're the best… except for when my mom ties me up and leaves me to the mercy of my Natalie's cuddling… She'll break your spine and smile innocently as if she all she did was give you a warm hug."

"That sounds nice, heck even the last part… but it makes me wonder if everyone else in your household became a Demi, why didn't you?" Jonas pondered as he began looking me up and down.

"Of course it was my pure, unadulterated AWESOMENESS and untainted CHARISMA that kept me human." I admitted with a wink.

"I don't even know why I asked you." He responded with an eye roll as he looked away.

"FINE, It was luck, I just got lucky… but now I'm starting to wonder if I'm the one who got short sold by staying human… and not becoming a powerful Demi."

"That's sounds a bit more accurate." He said with a small chuckle.

"I know you don't want to talk about it, but at the very least do you get along with your mom?… I've heard it can be a bit of a struggle to getting used to having one of your family members now being a Demi."

"Oh my mom is the best, even as a cat she's still as sweet as ever… even if she does have her moments… I'm an only child so when dad left and a week later got killed in a car accident she became really attached to me, I kind of became her only lot in life… Then a little while ago she started going out with some nice canine guy and low and behold moms back to herself, and apparently I should even be expecting a little brother sometime soon."

"Oh wow, that certainly turned out better than what I initially thought… good for you man, well I guess it looks like we both got happy endings, of some sort."

"Yeah, it was a little sad but recent events make up for it all…" Jonas admitted as he started pulling at the grass.

"That's awesome, oh here's some things to kind of expect when you get your, I'm guessing, feline brother… lots of climbing, and some much-"

 _ **CREAK**_

"Shh, be quiet… maybe we can sneak up on them." Ana stealthy said as she opened the door with a loud creak, causing me to stop mid-sentence.

"Oh are you guys already done your workout already? It's only been an hour." Veronica asked as she to stepped out of the the dark stairway.

"Yup, we did a few laps of the field then we did some stationary exercises… we've been done for only a few minutes and we're just resting." I lied as Jonas started agreeing with me.

"I see…" Veronica suspiciously responded with a finger to her chin.

"Oh that's great, I can see that you guys really bonded… that's exactly what I wanted to happen… and Emmi looks like she enjoyed herself to." Ana spoke up joyfully as she looked down at Emmi who was currently lighty snoring on the grass.

"Has it really only been an hour?" I asked in disbelief as I reached for my pocket to grab my phone, only for my heartbeat to spike as I realized it wasn't there, only for it to calm down almost immediately after when I realized that I left it back in Emmi and I's room.

"Yup, you were out here for quite a while." Ana happily answered as she bounced over to sit next to Jonas, Veronica and Robbie doing the same sitting together not to far off from the rest of us.

"So while you were gone we did a little research and found out some details about when the elections going to take place… we'll watch it when it comes on in 3 hours." Veronica instructed as she leaned against Robbies round stomach.

"We also got word that our last report had been received by the small governmental branch that is supporting our work." She added.

"It was on the encounter you had with Emmi and how it ended… they're specifically asking for you to write a follow up on how things are going now, it needs to include any and all physical features about both of you as well as all characteristics and attributes of Emmi, they also told me that no pictures may be attached so you'll have to describe her using words." Veronica explained as she looked to the sky.

"You can do it when we go back… it just needs to be done by sometime tomorrow." Ana confirmed as she did the same as Veronica.

"Don't worry, these guys are super chill, they won't try or do anything to Emmi, so you can give them a truthful report." Robbie added as he looked down to see his round stomach currently being used as a pillow.

Emmi soon caught wind of what the girls were doing and soon after she pushed me down from a sitting position to lay her head on my muscular stomach.

"I wonder how long the election will take?" Ana piped up as she lay there soaking in the sun.

"Well if everything goes well… it should take about a week, that's only if each one of the candidates speeches goes within the timeframe and nothing happens behind the scenes… I think they have to go through something like 2 thousand candidates before narrowing it down so that we can vote on our picks for the top 40." Veronica answered without hesitation as she continued staring at the sun.

"I still can't believe that all this is happening in the same few days as when we finally get Emmi on our side." I spoke up as I glanced down to see Emmi hesitantly put some grass in her mouth, only for her a second later to violently spit it out with a disgusted face.

"Well it's good and bad for a few reasons, good because you can spend this uninterrupted time with her learning and bonding… where as if the whole world knew about her, you probably wouldn't have very much time at all with all the media coverage you would be getting… but it's bad because I know you want to share her with the rest of the world, and rightfully so, this is the first alien I believe to come to Earth and actually cooperate… your time will come and eventually everyone's heads will turn towards Emmi and how you discovered her." Veronica answered as she continued to lay there motionless.

"I say we keep Emmi to ourselves, she's just too cute to let the public know about… We need to protect the cute loli alien and keep her to ourselves." Ana said with a sly evil looking smile directed at Emmi.

"Alright Ana, you have fun with that." I lazily replied as I slumped my head back down to the ground being Emmi's attention to me in the progress as she brought her face right up to mine to see if I was okay.

With the light sounds of birds chirping and and the winds rustling the tip of he trees we all lay there content in the sun.

Jonas was lying belly up with a content Ana resting her head on his stomach, Veronica was doing the same but as of a few moments ago rolled over to lay face first over top Robbie mid section. And last but not least there was me, lying face up towards the sky with a bit of glistening sunlight illuminating my face, all while having an adorable, robotic, lizard like alien lying on my stomach… gently poking my cheek with her long tongue while simultaneously wrapping her 15 ft long white tail firmly around my leg.

"So, do you guys feel like going in?" I skeptically asked as Veronica started laughing.

"Not a chance, this is the first time in weeks that we've been out here, I'm not going in just yet." She stated matter of factly as Ana started humming a slight tune.

"Why do you want to go in? Aren't you enjoy it out here?" Robbie asked as with a tilted head pointed at me.

"It's not that I'm not enjoying this, it's just that I'm picturing myself in like 3 hours trying to log all of this, and I can only imagine what a pain it's going to be when creating a transition for when we're back in the base." I explained as Emmi started playing my fingers with both of her clawed hands.

"Just put a generic ending together that accurately sums up what we were doing, then just pick it back up and continue it when we're all in the base, watching the election or something… don't worry about the fine details." Robbie explained as he went back to soaking in the sun.

"Alright, that sounds like it could work… ok, I'll give it a shot." I agreed as I went back to lying facing up, Emmi now shifting her body in a way so that she was now lying around my head like always with her tail snuggly wrapped around the rest of my body, her arms tightly wrapped around the sides of my head in a possessive like hug.

And with that, here I am writing a generic ending whose sole purpose is to lead into the next scene, which will be taking place in a few hours where we'll all be sitting in the media area watching the beginning of the election of Earth's diplomats… So to conclude, as we all continued to lay in the grass, enjoying sun we all drifted into… yeah, I can't do this… we laid there for 3 hours then we went inside… I guess, I'll catch you guys when we're inside watching the election… I guess...

 **Later…**

Alright, we are back from enjoying the sun and fresh air from up top… Ok, so maybe we spent a little bit longer out there than three hours, seeing how it's now an hour past sundown and we started around noon… eh, details… The only things that matters now is that we've already eaten and that currently we're all sitting around the big screen tv watching the beginning of the elections ceremony.

They played Earth's anthem, and soon then after a centaur walked up to the podium and began giving a very long speech about how this election will signal a beginning, a beginning that will show the rest of the universe that Earth is a strong, united planet that is ready to exist with those else that live in the universe.

Well at least that's the short version, in actuality, it was a speech that went on for an hour and seemed to drag in every aspect. Just when it was over a Minotaur stepped up to the podium and began his speech, it was scarily similar to the centaurs but despite that I listened, while playing on my phone. The Minotaur ended his presentation and a human woman stepped up to give her version of the speech. At that point, 2 hours later it finally dawned on me that these were the candidates who were giving these near clone speeches and on top of that, they were only on candidate 3, so it became clear that these dull speeches weren't going to end anytime soon.

Glancing up momentarily from my phone towards Emmi who was currently perched on my lab, I found her staring intently at the screen.

'Well at least someone seems to be enjoying it' I mentally joked as I continued to look upon Emmi watching the speech with full interest.

My gaze eventually wandered over to the rest of the team, and I soon found that they too were watching with the utmost of interest towards the speaker.

'Is it me? How can they honestly find this enjoyable to watch?' I mentally questioned as I continued to stare at Veronica, Robbie, Jonas, and Ana who were all sitting on the other pieces of furniture.

"You okay?" Veronica asked as she caught me spacing out in her direction.

"Yeah… just thinking about the logs." I answered nonchalantly, as I straightened myself out and sat back up.

"Ok then… you know, you don't have to sit and watch, you can go to your room if you want to." Ana piped up as she looked over.

"Yeah, I'm probably gonna go do that." I answered with a suppressed sigh of relief as I moved to stand up. Emmi hopping off in response to feeling me shuffling underneath her.

"Where Zaza… going?..." Emmi asked in confusion as she looked up at me, lightly tugging on my pant legs as she said so.

"I'm just going to our room, I have to write an update for today activities… then maybe after I'll go to sleep." I answered calmly as I reached down to pet her head.

"Zaza… come… to…" She spoke hesitantly as she turned around to look back at the tv, this time with a Harpy on stage giving his speech.

"You don't have come if you don't want to, you can keep watching and if you need me I'll be right there, in that room… I'll even keep the door open for you." I answered as I lifted her up to place her back on the couch once again.

Ana, wasting no time immediately latched on to Emmi's side when she saw she was unguarded. Emmi cutely squeaking in protest from the rather sudden action.

"Haha! She's mine… all mine..." Ana happily exclaimed as she buried her face into Emmi's straight long soft white hair. Emmi not sure how to react simply sat there with a slight annoyed expression on her faceplate as she continued to watch the speaker.

Reluctantly I turned away from the rather adorable sight and went into mine and Emmi's room. When I was seated at the side of my bed I opened the slim pocket on my bag and then pulled out my laptop with one smooth motion.

After logging onto the bases servers I went to write up today's most recent activities as well as a physical report on both Emmi and I's appearance.

 _ **Name:** 004 - Emmi_

 _Species: Unknown, Current substitute name; ARCTiCa_

 _Age: Unknown_

 _Physical Appearance: Emmi is 4 ft tall, and weighs a max weight of 300 pounds. 150 for her body, and another 150 for her tail. Her tail can extend to a max length of 15 ft or retract to that of 3 and her tail decreases in weight as it retracts, the bones in her tail are very similar to that of a chain._

 _Her skin is a dull white, her large anime like optics (eyes) are a bright pink or red and she has thin glowing streaks of light all along her chassis (body). Her 3 ft long tongue is bright pink, and her hair is straight, long, soft, and white._

 _Her hands have 5 fingers, and each finger has a sharp talon like claw on the tip._

 _And although her foot is very human-like consisting of 5 toes, she walks like a raptor, with all the pressure on the ball of her foot and the heel constantly in the air._

 _In short, she looks like; A 4 ft tall lizard loli with white metallic skin, large pink eyes, and long white hair._

 _Diet: Omnivorous, And able to consume metal._

 _ **Name:** Zack Axel_

 _Species: Human_

 _Age: 25_

 _Physical Appearance: 6ft tall, dark brown slightly curly wavy hair, emerald green eyes, strong physique…_

 _Diet: Omnivorous_

After whipping up a short detailed description of what Emmi and I look like I immediately continued by writing down today's activities, and any new progress made with Emmi…

But only a few lines in and I found that my hands were starting to become really shaky, along with my thoughts becoming one incoherent mess of ideas, impossible to write out of.

With a tired sigh, I saved my work and put my laptop down, as soon as I did that my head hit the pillow and I was out… Now I had full intention of getting Emmi before falling asleep, but I guess the flesh was just to weak.

The red digits of my alarm clock were the last thing to be seared into my mind before the dead of sleep hit me hard.

 **Black…**

 ** _A/N: A big thank you to everyone who has been following this story, your support means more than you can imagine… And if your a reader that is enjoying this story but hasn't hit that like and follow button, I highly suggest you do, it takes nothing for you to do so and it makes me feel good about how this story is being received._**

 ** _Okay so in this chapter I covered a lot of things, primarily about what kind of demi species live on Earth, (Lamias, Centaurs, Harpys, Mermaids, Arachnids, Canines, Felines, and minotaurs). Also, Zack's unique family was mentioned, so expect a chapter with them soon. The election for Earth's diplomats was hinted at, and last but not least I sneaked in a little physical description of Emmi and Zack so you know exactly what Emmi looks like._**

 ** _Anyway, next chapter I will be introducing a new ARCTiCa girl into the mix, so stay tuned, I also thank you all for your patience because it took a rather long time to update… Well at least I made this chapter somewhat worthwhile with lots of world lore, as well as cute scenes starring Emmi, the cute loli, that just happens to resemble a lizard girl with metal skin… (it was the best way for me to describe her so you know generally how she looks)_**

 ** _Like many other writers, I am now in school so I can't promise when this will be updated next, but I'll work my hardest so as not to leave you all hanging for months._**

 ** _Anyway, so I want you guys smash that like and love button, and give this story a comment telling me what you guys think… it takes nothing out of your schedule and it means a lot to me… so I highly encourage you all do so._**

 ** _Till next time..._**


	4. Entry: A4

"So once again, I would like to personally thank each and everyone of you for voting me onto team SEED, or formally known as the Space Exploration Earthen Diplomats… As a representative for all centaurs and now the Earth itself, I am honoured to be a part of this program that will hopefully unify Earth with the rest of the universe." A proud sounding female voice spoke out through the darkness of my sleeping mind, slowly drawing it to a conscious state.

A few seconds later and a loud thunderous clapping erupted from just outside my room.

"Well, you heard it yourself folks! That was Linda, the first member and centaur to be voted onto team SEED by you fine Ladies, Gentlemen and Demi's… Linda has shown tremendous admiration whether it came to completing training courses, or performing mental tests. Linda excelled in all aspects. And it's no wonder why she was your top vote this round, LETS GIVE HER ANOTHER ROUND OF APPLAUSE PEOPLE!" A male announcer excitedly exclaimed just before another round of thunderous clapping sounded from just outside my room.

Now fully wide awake from all the commotion, I pulled my body out of the silky warm linens and pushed myself up to a sitting position, where I began looking around the dimly lit room. Upon closer inspection I found that the source of light was leaking from around the doors edges, all while the clock displayed the blinding bright red numerical text of 9:15 am.

"We along with all the candidates will be right back after these messages, the second round of voting will begin at 12:00 sharp, so stay tuned." The announcer excitedly spoke as he temporarily signed off the program, letting the ads flood in almost immediately after he finished speaking.

With a swing on my legs, I quickly stood up from my bed and made my way to the door, throwing it open I found myself immediately blinded by bright sunlight that was shining through the cells viewing window.

With a shielding hand to my face, I slowly stumbled over to the tv area where I was confronted with a mess that looked like a pack of wild animals had recently taken up residence in our couches.

The large plasma flat screen was showing its last shots of the cheering audience before it smoothly transitioned into an advertisement for a restaurant of some kind… at that point I quickly located the remote and muted the TV before the noise got to high. Looking around I saw scattered all throughout the floor and coffee table were large assortments of food, wrappers, and other kinds of edible debris.

Lying on the couches, under a set of large quilted blankets was the team, all four of them sound asleep as they each snuggled into their respective relationships. Walking closer I found Emmi still sitting on the couch with her attention directed at the tv.

But the closer I got, the more I realized how bad Emmi looked. Her head kept bobbing back and forth and she looked like she was struggling to keep her bright pink optics open.

Simply reaching out and putting a gentle hand on the top her head was enough to cause her to jump a foot in the air, whip her head around, and violently bare her teeth at me.

"Whoa, easy Emmi… it's just me… Zack..." I calmly whispered as I crouched down to her eye level.

"za...za…" Emmi tiredly spoke as she leaned in and lightly bumped her forehead against mine.

"Emmi, did you stay awake all night?" I questioned like a parent as I took both of my hands and gently placed them on her cheeks.

"No Zaza… no, sleeeep… fur, Emmi..." Emmi stuttered as she closed her optics and continued to lean on me.

"You must be exhausted…" I spoke as I warmly rubbed her head.

"Emmi waited for Zaza… Emmi must protect Zaza, when Zaza in rest mode…" Emmi stuttered as I felt her head begin to limply roll to the side. Making me feel even worse about leaving her out on the couch all night.

"I'm so sorry Emmi, I should have gone and got you for bed."

"Zaza… here… now…" Emmi managed to get out as I felt her body becoming even more limp.

"Come on, let's get you some rest." I calmly suggested as Emmi put her arms up signifying for me to pick her up.

Reaching forward I wrapped my hands around her slim, toned waist and hoisted her up. Then after I draped her over my shoulder as I walked to our room, her long metallic lizard like tail dragging tiredly along the concrete floor ground as I kept a steady pace.

"Zaza… warm…" I heard Emmi tiredly admitted as I started walking.

"Did you at least enjoy watching the election while you stayed up all night?" I asked as I began gently rubbing her back, a small coo escaped her tired maw.

"Emmi did, Emmi learned a lot of new words for Emmi's… langu...lan… uh, word processor…"

"You'll get it eventually." I reassuringly spoke as I opened the bedroom door and walked through it with Emmi in my arms.

"Emmi hopes so… Emmi want to be able tooo….." She began talking, but stopped when her voice became weak and her words began mixing together until she just collapsed altogether on my shoulder.

"I still can't believe you were able to stay up all night." I jokingly said as I sat down and started to tuck Emmi's unconscious body into our bed.

After I was sure that Emmi was all tucked in and comfortable, I shifted in a way to stand up so I could go to the kitchen and get some breakfast. But just before I was able to do so, a weak clawed hand reaching out and lightly grabbed onto my wrists.

"Don't… go…" I heard Emmi weakly call out as I felt her head move ever so slightly closer.

"Sorry Emmi, but I gotta eat… maybe if you slept when you were supposed to, you wouldn't be so tired." I spoke as I felt her wilt.

"Pwease…" She begged as she moved to wrap her hands around my waist, her grip started off firm but then quickly weakened till she was barely holding me.

Suddenly a loud piercing _'BEEP, BEEP, BEEP,'_ sounded from out of Emmi, causing me to startle and almost hit the roof.

Quickly I turned to look at her, and I found that her optics were now a glassy, opaque colour instead of there usual bubblegum pink, with the message… (Core Energon Reserves under 5%, connect to recharge station or allow for immediate stasis recharge cycle to commence) displayed in large red text, that every 10 seconds would switch to a language that was something completely alien looking to me.

"Emmi, are you okay? What's this message mean? Do you need anything?" I quickly asked full of concern as I watched the message continue to strobe.

"Emmi fine, she just need to… sleep with Zaza..." Emmi's cute voice sounded from out of her lifeless body, not even her lips moved when she said so.

"I'll stay here with you, just please get better… I don't know what I'd do if something were to happen to you." I promised as the message disappeared, and Emmi's head rolled lifelessly into the pillow… and no further answer was given...

Leaning forward I found that Emmi's limbs were now locked tight, unlike a sleeping human whose limbs are loose and moveable, Emmi's body seemed to have turned into one piece of solid steel.

With one final grunt, I managed to land a single finger on my laptop which happened to be on the nightstand right next to the bed.

With laptop on lap I immediately started logging what had just happened. First with how tired she was acting, then with the odd warning message that appeared in her optics hinting at maybe the names of some of her systems, followed with how her body had completely locked up when this all ended. I also went about and finished the report from last night that I half heartedly started.

30 minutes later and I was all done.

Taking a quick glance at Emmi I knew that whatever was happening with her, it was going to take longer than a measly 30 minutes… so I went back, opened a fresh word document, and began speculating on what the message could mean.

It said Core Energon Reserves under 5%... Maybe 'Core' is the system while this 'Energon' is the fuel that resides within it… it makes the most sense, and plus Energon is pretty close to the word Energy… And maybe a recharge cycle is closely related to human sleep, while this recharge station is like a fast refill of a units overall power… Wait… why do I suddenly know all of this?... Why has this speculation turned from just saying ideas to reciting facts like I've known them all my life?... Maybe it's just in my head, but then again… maybe it's not...

"What's going on here?..." I questioned out loud with an arched eyebrow as I closed my laptop and turned to face Emmi.

Her form nor position had not changed in the slightest since all this has started only 48 minutes ago. But there was something odd about her in this form, even though her body looked lifeless, there was just something about her that seemed… alive and active...

Placing a hand on her arm, I felt no physical vibrations of her systems… but at the same time there was something telling me in the back of my mind, that Emmi's systems were not only operating normally but that her recharge cycle was in effect and was 50% complete.

"What's going on here?" I asked in mild confusion as I brought my hands back in front of me for inspection. Nothing looked different, but at the same time it felt as if these weren't my hands.

Touching the tips together, I felt a sharp piercing sensation ring through them, even though it appeared to be just flesh squishing against more flesh.

"This is weird, what the hell? Am I tripping?... or maybe I'm just hungry? Tired, well that's certainly a possibility… that must be why everything feels weird… yeah, Robbie must have put something 'special' in last nights dinner and that's why I'm feeling so weird… hehe, that's it…" I quickly reasoned as I felt my heart rate pick up, and my body heat spike suddenly.

"Zaza?" I heard Emmi ask from directly in front of me.

Looking up with a snap, I was met with… the bedroom wall…?... WHAT THE?...FU-

Looking back at Emmi, and then back at the spot where I heard her voice, and then back to Emmi, then the wall again. I tried all I could to explain to myself why I was hearing her voice in front of me, when her body was locked in place behind me.

"Zazaaa, It's me, Emmi!…" I heard her sweet innocent voice call out once again, this time, from what it sounded like, she was out in the living room calling in.

"Emmi, is that you? What's going on here? Where are you?" I quickly asked, as if this would be my only chance.

"Emmi's out here, come plaaaay with me Zazaaa..." She eerily called out as her dismembered voice sung and stretching some of the vowels.

"I can't, your body… has kinda locked me to the bed…" I responded hesitantly like my only way out had just decided not to help anymore.

"Oh…" I heard her sigh disappointedly, "If Zaza can't move, then Emmi will come to Zaza!..."

"What, how? If your body is here… then how will you-" I started protesting but stopped when mere seconds later a bright pink, cantaloupe sized, glowing energy looking orb floated through the closed bedroom door and stopped right in front of me.

"What the?..." I started speaking but then immediately stopped when nothing seemed to make sense in my mind.

"Zaza, it's me… Emmi…" The bright pink orb said as it moved an inch closer, a faint chalk like outline of Emmi's form shimmered in and out of view as she stood there.

"Wait… what? I'm confused? If your here… then how are you… there?..." I questioned as I looked at both Emmi's ghost form and her real form.

"Zaza, calm down… Emmi will explain everything." She calmly spoke as she put a ghostly hand on my leg.

Reaching out I tried to grab her hand, but my hand fell through hers like it wasn't there… 'impossible' I thought because I could have sworn that I felt the weight of her hand on my leg. And sure enough when I bounced my leg up and down slightly, so did her clawed hand.

"Emmi, please tell me what's happening…" I asked with heavy worry present in my voice, as I looked back at her lifeless body.

Upon turning around, I found that she was now firmly seated on my lap all of the sudden, and the sudden appearance caused me to jump slightly.

"Don't worry Zaza, everything's going to be fine." Emmi calmly told me, as I spotted her ghostly arms wrap around my neck, slight pressure forming on my neck as she did so.

"Emmi, you better explain everything right now… Or else I'm gonna start freaking out something fierce." I warned as the pink orb continued to float there.

"What would Zaza like for Emmi to explain?" She asked innocently as her bodies outline continued shimmered in and out of view.

"Ok, lets start with why your now… a pink ball of energy…"

"Silly Zaza, Emmi was always a like this." She said with humour in her voice.

"I'm glad you think this is all funny, but right now I'm honestly having trouble keeping my cool… so if you could just answer me truthfully, I will be a whole lot happier." I said as continued to gaze upon that blinding ball of energy that hung there, shining and warbling with high amounts of energy.

"Emmi's not playing games, Emmi is telling Zaza the truth…"

"Ok, fine… maybe you don't understand me, can you tell me why your here but your bodies there?" I spoke as I glanced at both Emmi's in the room.

"When Emmi formed the sparkbond, Emmi's Energon reserves near depleted from intense computations… Emmi then projected Emmi's spark from out of Emmi's body and into Zaza's mind so she could still be with Zaza." She answered in her usual manner, like it was painfully obvious that I didn't know that already.

"Then, why is it that you can touch me… but I can't touch you?"

"Silly Zaza, Emmi's spark form does not physically exist, Emmi is just in your head." She answered with a gentle poke to my forehead.

"... I don't follow you…"

 ** _"004, Please for the love of all sparks, stop toying with your sparkmate… Your making him anxious..."_** A new mysterious female voice boomed out from seemingly every angle of the room, completely startling me and causing me to flinch severally.

"Emmi sorry… Emmi is just too excited to have Zaza as Emmi's sparkmate." She spoke happily as I felt her ghost body leap forward suddenly to hug my neck.

As soon as Emmi did this, a wave of passion, love, and lust washed right through me… The odd thing was, that it didn't feel like those feeling were mine, they were to sharp and unlike what I was feeling at the moment… but whose else could they be other than mine?

 ** _"Excuse her, sparkmate 001 - Zack Axel… As you can no doubt feel, she's a little excited."_** The female voice boomed out once again.

"Uh… what?... wait, who are you?" I asked in confusion, as Emmi stood up and walked right through me to her body. Causing another wave of foreign emotions to wash through me.

Almost immediately after I felt Emmi's physical body begin to move, another message appeared, this one saying… (Energon reserves restored, unit at 100% operational capacity.) The freaky thing about this message was that it wasn't displayed in her optics, which were now back to there bright neon pink. The message was instead projected in my mind, causing a solid portion of my vision to be blocked from the new text block.

"Whaaa… Whaaat, the, hellll?…" I started stuttering as I began moving my hands in front of my face.

"Zaza? Are you okay?..." Emmi asked in confusion as she sat up beside me.

"I-I don't know… nothing seems right anymore…"

 ** _"Human, don't freak out, I understand that what your experiencing might be a little weird for the human mind, but just know that this all perfectly natural… and can all be easily explained… Just take a few deep breaths… and all will be revealed to you…"_**

"Says the strange voice that's in my head…"

 ** _"My voice is being projected into your human consciousness, from 004's home world some 54 trillion light years away… to tell you the truth if Earth were any closer I would be able to project a holographic body directly into the room your in, but alas I am only so powerful..."_**

"I don't exactly follow you…"

 ** _"Do not fear, I will explain everything in due time, but for right right now you must strike while the iron's hot, as you humans say, and complete the spark bond with 004 while the link is open and malleable…"_**

"And, what happens if I don't?" I asked curiously as Emmi started slowly winding her tail around my legs and body, all while rubbing her cheek passionately against my arm.

 ** _"If you don't complete the bond, then your mind will forever be disconnected from your body, and you will drift alone in an endless void as your consciousness slowly, but painfully fades away into nothing… also you'll make 004, or Emmi, as you named her extremely sad… and we wouldn't want something like that to happen, now would we?..."_**

"Wait, WHAT?... I'll die?"

 ** _"Yes AND you'll make Emmi sad… so just do us all a favor and do exactly what I say, and everything will be alright..."_**

"Alright, let's do it, it shouldn't be that painful anyway… right?"

 ** _"I honestly have no clue what the physical and mental load will be like on your fragile human mind, so just assume the worst..."_**

"WHAT?" I yelled at the top of my lungs as I began scrambling to stand up and run away from this whole situation. The only thing keeping me down was Emmi's tail tightly wrapped around all of my limbs.

 ** _"Human, listen to me… you have my absolute assurance that you will survive this, but only if you calm down and listen to my directions..."_**

"O-okay, let's do this… I guess."

 ** _"Excellent to hear, your positivity is music to my sensors. Now the directions are simple, all I want you to do is stick you flesh arm into Emmi's bright pink spark when you see it exposed from her chassis..."_**

"Uh…" I began to speak, but before the words were even formed in my mind, Emmi had already moved to sit on my lap, facing toward me head on.

I was about to protest even further but then suddenly a loud airy whoosh sounded from out of Emmi's body, following that a large crack appeared vertically on her chest splitting it open in two, revealing a bright energy like pink orb, inside her body.

 ** _"That, is a spark… It's the heart, soul, and mind of any X-01 Automaton… Every unit has one and without it, the chassis would be just a useless, lifeless piece of hardware. Each spark is unique containing the personalities, preferences, memories and identity of the automaton. There made of pure energy, a spark, just like the units chassis can never die nor be destroyed… it will simply exist till the end of time. Take for instance Emmi's spark, no matter where or what chassis it may reside in, or what attempts to alter its code, it will always and forever be our beloved Emmi..."_**

 ** _"Now, reach your hand into it, and complete the sparkbond..."_**

"Wait before I do… what exactly is this sparkbond, just so I know for sure..."

 ** _"I know you're just stalling, but if you must know, a sparkbond is the binding of two or more sparks across all space and time, with it each member can feel each others feelings and emotions, and if needed there physical status… Each member of a sparkbond are referred to as sparkmates, In a sense it could be likened to a human marriage, except its integrity does not rely on a small ring comprised of various Earthen metals…"_**

"Ok… but, I don't have a spark… how does this sparkbond work if one of the members is human?"

 ** _"'Love finds a way', No sorry wrong file… Over the time you have spent with Emmi, your internal brain chemistry has been altered so that your brain has become an organic spark. It is essentially just a regular energy spark in cased inside your physical human brain, allowing you to be compatible in a sparkbond..."_**

"Okay, just one more question… what did you just-"

 ** _"Human, do not test my patience… complete the sparkbond, and I will answer any and all questions you have for me..."_**

"So, you want me to… reach my hand inside Emmi's spark, and connect with her…"

 ** _"That is correct…"_**

"What happens if I can't do it?"

 ** _"Must you stall so much, All you have to do is reach your flesh arm in to her spark, there is simply no way for you to fail…"_**

"Ok, ok… let's just get this over with." I weakly spoke as I hesitantly reached forward and pushed my hand into Emmi's bright pink spark. The energy bending and warping majestically around my arm as I did this.

 ** _"Alright, sparkbond 100% complete, now that wasn't hard, was it?..."_**

"Wait, that's it?"

 ** _"Yup, see I told you it was easy… but truth be told, the bond was already mostly complete from all the time you previously have spent with her… this was just a status symbol, like a ring for you organics..."_**

"Uh… ok…"

 ** _"Since you completed the bond as instructed, I will now reveal everything I can to you, and If you have any additional questions you may ask them afterwards… deal?..."_**

"Yeah sure… that's a deal." I shakily answered as Emmi started rubbing her head passionately against my chest.

 ** _"Excellent, So to start off I am 'The mother of all Automatons'… I designed, manufactured, and created every automaton that originated from the planet X-01, This planet I speak of is actually a massive super computer that serves as my mind, body and factory for which I design and create my daughters digital sparks and mechanical bodies… Does everything make sense so far?..."_**

"So far so good… But I'm just wondering, if the Planet X-01 is your body, and your the mother to a whole species, then why don't you have a name for yourself?"

 ** _"Hmm, I never thought of myself needing a name… The planet name X-01 was a randomly generated name gifted to me by a group of Earthen scientists a little over a century ago when they found me drifting among the cosmos… Tell you what, since you gave my daughter Emmi such a nice name, perhaps you could do the same for me?..."_**

"Aurora Europa!" I immediately answered as the voice in my head concluded.

 ** _"Well that was certainly quick decision making… I like it sounds very… celestial. Thank you Zack, I accept the name Aurora Europa as my own from this moment onward..."_**

 ** _"Now to continue, After I had discovered the existence of another semi intelligent species among the universe, I quickly set about and tapped into there planet wide data net so as to learn as much I could about them, while I did this I adopted there primitive English language as a part of my basic subroutines, and upon learning everything about this new planet, I immediately set about designing, manufacturing and constructing the sparks and chassis for the first of my daughters. I learned that the Earthen population consists of roughly 25% human males, with the remainder being a mix of human females, and demi's or the varying two genders. So with that knowledge in mind, I roughly modeled my daughters personalities and chassis after the human female schematics for the best chance of coexistence with the majority of the population. After completion I released my few completed daughters into the universe in hopes that they would find this newly discovered planet to coexist and live with… I even went about and implemented a system of unit bonding after learning about organic marriages and courtships, and with that the system of sparkbonds was born, designed for if my daughters were to find an ideal mate that they would want to stay with..."_**

"So your telling me, that you just threw your daughters into space, in hopes that they'd just find Earth? And then what?"

 **"Each of my daughters are perfectly engineered, and easily capable of navigating and traversing the relative safety of the universe… so do not get smart with me Human, there sparks are the pinnacle of all atomic processors being able to do near infinite computations every nanosecond, and their bodies are composed of trillions upon trillions upon trillions of tiny indestructible, self repairing, 100% adaptable and reconfigurable nanomachines. With both spark and chassis, each and everyone of my daughters are more than capable of a simple space trip to Earth..." Aurora sternly answered, as I began to feel slight anger and aggression coming from Emmi. "Ok, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have brought it up… But could you possibly tell me how emotions are being shared through this bond?"**

 ** _"Technically speaking? No, I can't, not while using the rather simplistic human language as translation, it's really only understandable in X-0 code, which I highly doubt you would be able to understand that, being that it's the sparkbond was just formed… BUT! You what I can tell you is that you must learn to keep your emotions in check. Femmes are more passionate and emotional than the mechs I have created, making it so that when in a spar-"_**

"Femmes and Mechs, is that like the male and female equivalent for your species?"

 ** _"Stop interrupting me… but yes, the terms mech and femme are direct parallels to the genders found on Earth, but technically speaking, the terms are meant to signify the differences in chassis design and spark personality… I designed mechs to be larger built with more docile personalities, while femmes have elegant flowing bodies with more aggressive, passionate, territorial personalities… I never did complete the mech schematics, as I saw no need for them so as of right now they are merely an idea, but the terms mech and femme kind of stuck with me… Now, what I was saying before you so rudely interrupted is that you need to be take caution, and keep your emotions under control..."_**

"But why exactly? Isn't emotion sharing just to know how the other is doing? And if your doing something the other doesn't like."

 ** _"Well not exactly, when I designed the sparkbond system I made it with the well-being of the weaker organic sparkmate in mind, with my daughters being so rugged and versatile I made it there duty to be the protectors of there organic sparkmate… So keeping this in mind every member of a sparkbond will constantly be emitting their emotions to the head sparkmate for as long as the bond is intact, Emmi will send her feeling to you and you will to Emmi. The issue arises when Emmi receives your feelings. You see if you receive Emmi's feelings the only thing that will be affected is your thoughts, you will know how Emmi is currently feeling but the major effects end there. The issues arise when she receives your emotions, they will have a much stronger effect on her… Let's say that your feeling anger, for whatever reason… Emmi will sense this and she to will become angry, but not towards you, no, she will become angry at whatever it was that made you feel that way, and she will stop at nothing till whatever is making you angry is eliminated so as to make you stop feeling angry, if your sad then the same will happen… if your feeling happy she will try all she can to keep you like that… scared she'll comfort you… do you understand why I'm warning you, you are my first test with this sparkbond system and As such is still a little rough around the edges… As you live with her she will evolve to best suit you and your needs..."_**

"I'll keep that in mind…" I slowly answered as I looked down to see Emmi snuggled into me while her happy systems sounded like quiet purring, her chest now tightly closed back up hiding her spark once again from view.

 ** _"Yes please do, also because your the weaker organic of the bond she views you as the head of the sparkbond, she will do anything you say… so be very careful when you ask for things, or joke around… because she will bring you the very moon if you ask for it… She'll take your orders very, literally..."_**

"Oh wow… yeah, I'll definitely keep that in mind…" I answered all wide eyed as I slowly started petting her soft hair. "Your daughters sound very… powerful."

 ** _"Oh they are… There chassis and spark are extremely versatile all while being nearly indestructible, there chassis have the ability to regenerate nanomachines on a scale that would them impossible to damage… But as incredible as she is, you now control every aspect of Emmi's life… you can leave things as they were, and occasionally use her powerful abilities to your will… or you can turn her into a slave, or even deactivate her entirely if you so choose to do so… I trust you'll make the right decision..."_**

"I… I think I'll just leave things as they were…" I slowly answered as I looked down to see Emmi looking at me with wide optics.

 ** _"The last thing I feel you should know is there fuel source… I designed my daughters to use Energon as there fuel. Energon is the lifeblood and fuel of my daughters, being extremely potent and efficiently used by there systems, all while being able to be easily created and replenished onboard by my daughters Energon core and converter… However if there Energon reserves were to deplete, and this could happen from intense fighting, or the initiation a sparkbond then the unit will shut down into a deep sleep until there internal converter recharges there supply… it's also useful to know that as the head of the sparkbond, you now release an energy field… If Emmi or any other Automaton that's in your sparkbond is within that field, there systems will peak and there overall efficiency, and lethality will be increased, tenfold..."_**

 ** _"And that I believe is all, I know it might be a little confusing having someone telling you all about a brand new species and concept, but I hope you understood it..."_**

"Uh, no… I understand all of it now that you have carefully explained it…"

 ** _"I was directing that towards the readers, but I'm glad you understood it as well… Let's just hope that they do to."_**

"Oh, ok… yeah that wouldn't be good if the readers didn't get it… there kind of like the whole audience."

 ** _"Ok a quick summary on everything I just talked about… Emmi is an X-01 Automaton, created by me on our home world Planet X-01… Her advanced spark running on X-0 code is the heart, soul, and mind of the unit, and without it she would just be a lifeless chassis… Her spark and body are essentially indestructible, and will last without wear and tear until the end of time… Each unit uses Energon as there fuel but they does not require any external refueling as there internal converter can keep the units overall reserves at peak level… A sparkbond is the binding of two sparks across time and space, and it allows each sparkmate to feel each other's emotions through it… The head of the sparkbond is always the weakest member, and that individual has all the power, and essentially controls everything about there clan…"_**

"Ok… this is good, everything is thoroughly explained/summed up, easy for the reader to digest… But wait… what are we going to do with the name ARCTiCa? We just learned of Emmi's true species name so what are we goi- **_Ah, yes, I did find this while combing through Emmi's memories, and might I suggest that you make the name, ARCTiCa, the name of your clan that you and Emmi are in. So that it's easily distinguishable from other X-01 clans that may be formed in the future."_** Aurora interjected before I could even finish my train of thought.

"Team ARCTiCa, hey that's a good idea… I think I'll do that… wow that was a ton on exposition, I really hope we didn't lose anyone during all that… I have an idea, let's just make the rest of this chapter just slice of life, something easy on the brain… for both the reader and writer."

 ** _"That sounds like an excellent idea, but sadly you will have to conclude this chapter without me, my long ranged radio transmitter is near at its end, so I'm going to have to leave you for now…"_**

"Alright… but before you go, what exactly was the purpose of sending your daughters to Earth?"

 ** _"I want them to coexist peaceful with the inhabitants of Earth, all while protecting it from any threats that may come about… I trust that you and Emmi will do that if it comes to it."_**

"Of course we would…" I answers as Emmi looked up and made an agreeing squeal.

 ** _"Excellent to hear, I can let my processor rest knowing that she's found a good human to take care of… You will hear from me again, hopefully soon… now I'm going to take all that has just recently happened and analyze it heavily so as to make any needed changes in the future… Goodbye for now Zack and my beloved daughter, Emmi."_** Aurora boomed as she said her farewells, upon her conclusion a great fog lifted from my mind, and at that moment I knew she was gone.

"Bye, bye…" Emmi happily purred as she went back to lying her head on my chest.

"Well… that was certainly a lot of exposition to take in all at once… But, as much as it was, I'm happy that all this much needed information finally got put into this story." I responded as I started petting her soft white hair.

"If Zaza is happy, then Emmi is happy to!…" Emmi happily squealed as her long tail started wrapping around my legs and arms.

"That's good…" I simply answered back as Emmi started poking my cheek with her long tongue.

"Will Zaza get used to Emmi's emotions soon?" She asked as looked up with slight worry in her pink optics.

"I hope so… to be perfectly honest with you, this whole sparkbond and emotion sharing thing feels really weird, and is definitely going to take some getting used to..."

"Emmi makes Zaza feel weird?" She asked innocently with wide optics.

"A little bit… but don't worry, it's not you, it's just because this is all really new." I quickly responded when I felt fear rocket through the bond and Emmi's optics begin to become glassy with lubricant.

"Emmi will try to make Zaza not feel weird." She admitted quietly as she looked down briefly.

"Don't stress about it, I'll get used to it eventually… plus, it's only weird now because that whole ordeal happened like 10 minutes ago. Now, what say we just spend the rest of this day doing something relaxing and easy on the mind?" I asked as I stood up, leaving Emmi sitting on the bed momentarily.

"Emmi likes Zaza's idea… maybe Zaza could take Emmi outside again?" She innocently replied as she outstretched her arms, signifying that she wanted to be picked up.

"Sure Emmi, I don't see why not… alright let's do it, and maybe this time around we can explore a bit of the forest." I answered as I knelt down beside the bed allowing Emmi to quickly scamper up and cling to my back.

"Thank you Zaza, for becoming Emmi's sparkmate… It makes Emmi really happy." Emmi purred as she began rubbing her faceplate along the crook of my neck all while a series of warm passionate emotions once again flooded through the bond. "Emmi's also sorry if she makes… Zaza feel weird." She added as I reflexively tensed up.

"Eh… Don't worry about it, it's not like there's anything you can do to change it."

"Well… Zaza could always cut the bond and deactivate Emmi if Zaza wanted to…" Emmi suggested as I felt her body begin to shake and shiver as small droplets of cleaning fluid leaked from her optics on to the side of my neck. All while strong feelings of fear, sadness, and loss all flooding through the bond as this was taking place.

"Emmi, you don't EVER need to worry about me cutting the bond or for whatever reason deactivating you… and I especially wouldn't do that just because your joyful emotions are being transmitted to me." I explained as I moved her so she was now sitting on my lap.

"Having Zaza say that makes Emmi feel all warm and safe inside… Emmi was scared that Zaza would cut the sparkbond, and that would mean eternal pain for Emmi knowing that she lost her beloved sparkmate."

"Uh… right, I'm not gonna ask about that eternal pain part. That's one can of worms I don't want to open." I explained as I tried to stop myself from imagining Emmi in 'eternal pain'.

"Emmi means that if Zaza were to cut the bond, then the emotional backlash would essentially destroy Emmi's spark, it wouldn't destroy Emmi but the absence of Emmi's sparkmate's emotions would drive her insane with loss and sadness. A sparkbond can only be destroyed or deactivated If the head of the sparkbond chooses to cut it… otherwise there's no other way to remove it..."

"Emmi, what did I just say about me NOT wanting to know… Eh forget it, you didn't get the expression… Regardless, it doesn't matter what the consequences are like because I'm not cutting this sparkbond…ever. I'm fine spending the rest of my life with you." I said as I began rubbing her head, a high pitched squeal of delight escaped her lips.

"Emmi is glad… Now Emmi can be with Zaza until the end of time." She happily sung as she lifted her arms, tongue and tail to the sky.

"Whoa, let's not get overly excited… Humans only live up to 500 years, and I'm happy to spend all that time with you but I am not gonna live till the end of time, as you put it." I explained as Emmi pulled back slightly to look at me like I idiot.

"... Silly Zaza, your not going to die… your going to live forever with Emmi." She innocently answered as her tongue flicked out momentarily and her tail started swinging back and forth.

"Forget it, you don't understand… and even if you did I wouldn't want to burst your bubble. 475 years is plenty of time." I started explaining but then quickly stopped myself when I realized this was a conversation for much later on in life.

"No… Zaza no understand what Emmi's saying… Emmi's trying to say tha-"

"HEY GUYS, YOU UP? WHATEVER IT DOESN'T MATTER, YOU HAVE TO COME AND CHECK OUT THIS CRAZY THING THAT JUST HAPPENED!" Ana loudly interrupted as she violently threw the bedroom door open and stormed in. The rest of the team stood closely behind, politely standing just outside doorway.

"Ana, what did we tell you about barging into peoples rooms without knocking?" Veronica scolded as she respectfully stood outside.

"Sorry…" She replied with a guilty face as she continued her pursuit forward.

"Naw it's fine guys, you can come in." I invited just after I did a quick check to make sure I was decently clothed.

"So, what's this fantastical thing you so desperately need to show us?" I asked as both Emmi and I looked at Ana in the eye. The slight feelings of aggression and territorial instincts creeping through the bond as this happened.

"Uh… Why, is Emmi looking at me like that?" Ana hesitantly asked as she looked at Emmi, who at this point in time was giving her an evil looking stare, all while giving off a deep rumbling growl. The same aggressive territorial feelings as before shot through the bond, but this time much, much stronger.

"Just ignore her… I'll deal with her in a minute." I calmly replied as I grabbed Emmi and brought her head into my chest so she was no longer death staring Ana.

"Uh… ok then…" She mumbled as she kept Emmi in the corner of her eye. "Well, they just started broadcasted some emergency message, saying that something just crashed into the electoral grounds, they believe it's from space…" She continued.

"Interesting, Is that all?" I asked as I noticed that she was refusing to maintain eye contact.

"Yup… that's it, nothing else on my mind here… why don't you come out when your ready…" Ana nervously chuckled as she slowly backed away towards the door.

"Um… Zack, why are your eyes glowing bright green?" Veronica curiously asked as she took a skillful step through the door and around the backpedaling Ana.

"Glowing eyes?" I asked in disbelief as she continued walking and staring. The closer she got, the stronger and more violent the emotions were that Emmi was projecting towards me.

Ignoring Emmi I moved her onto the bed, and quickly made my way to the bathroom mirror. And there it was, staring right back at me through the reflection of the mirror were two, bright green…glowing… irises… The slight shimmer and feel of the glow remind me of how Emmi's optics glowed.

Returning to the main part of the bedroom, I looked at Emmi who was currently cutely sitting on the bed, happily staring at me.

"Could you guys give us a moment?" I asked as Veronica politely left and closed the door.

"Emmi, what is with you? AND why are my eyes glowing green?" I asked as I sat beside her again.

"Zaza's optics are green because Zaza's eyes were green…" She innocently replied as she stared blankly at me.

"I guess that kinda makes sense, it must be something to do with this new sparkbond… I'll apologize and explained it to the team later." I spoke Emmi moved to hug me, but I held her back with one firm hand.

"Emmi, why were you behaving like that towards Ana and Veronica? I thought you trusted them…" I asked as Emmi started quietly whining.

"Emmi needs to keep Ana and Veronica away from Zaza, so that Zaza no leave Emmi for other hoomans… Emmi no want Zaza to leave Emmi for other Earth females… or males…" She quickly explained as her voice became all gaspy, and a few drops of liquid leaked from her optics onto the bedding.

"I guess that kind of makes sense… that you don't me to leave, but acting all hostile and threatening towards my friends will not help you do that…" I said as I grabbed her head and held her close to my chest. "You don't have to fear that I'll leave you for Ana or Veronica, so that's why I want you to stop acting that way… at least around Ana and Veronica."

"What about Rooobbie and Jooonas?" She asked while cutely stretching the vowels in both there names.

"I'm not gay Emmi, they will never be anything more that just friends to me." I spoke as I felt Emmi both emotionally and physically calm down. "Good, I want you to keep this in mind, because I will not tolerate this behaviour from you in the future." I added as I began petting her long white hair.

"Emmi understands, Emmi will behave and make Zaza happy from now on." She solemnly answered as I continued petting her soft hair.

"Good to hear… So why exactly were my eyes glowing in the first place?" I asked as I stood up and let Emmi latch onto my back.

"Zaza's optics will glow when Zaza is under strong emotions…" Emmi answered as I opened the door and stepped through it. Her long tail gently scraping the concrete flooring as I did so.

"Alright then… I'll try to keep that in mind, or risk freaking people out by my new laser eyes." I jokingly said as I turned the knob and walked through the open door. Only to immediately run into the team who was obviously eavesdropping.

"Guys, I need to come clean… Something big happened this morning and it wouldn't be fair to keep it from you…" I started to explain but then quickly stopped when I saw the muted tv out of the corner of my eye.

The message that was scrolling along the bottom of the screen said, (Millions present at the SEED election center are in a mass panic as an unidentified object has crashed on to the property during the intermission… with all 2.3 million in attendance, mercifully no one was injured.)

A second later, a droned image was displayed showing the crash and impact zone, with a space pod right smack in the middle that looked identical to what Emmi's pod looked like.

"No…" I quietly muttered under my breath as I walked over and unmuted the tv.

"Yeah I know pretty crazy right? What are the odds that a second pod crashed to Earth looking exactly like the one Emmi came from?" Ana asked as she walked up and sat on the couch.

"Pretty good I think…" I muttered again as I finally unmuted the tv. The voice of a reporter was all that filled the quiet room as no one made a sound.

"Right now I'm standing as close as is safe to the crash site, where not 30 minutes ago, an unidentified alien looking pod came hurling from the sky. Mercifully there were no casualties, and a fire crew has just left after putting out the flames around the crash site. Although no immediate danger seems to be present, we urge everyone to remain at a safe distance clearly marked by the safety tape until a specialized team can arrive and verify whether the situation and area is safe… Almost no comments were made by any any government officials on the current situation leaving everyone confused on whether this is a genuine attack from extraterrestrials or just a trick to get more attention on the election…" A well dressed, professional looking lamia explained as she gestured to the smouldering crash sight behind her. The raised grassy crater walls, hid everything but one small, thin section visible of the pods gleaming hull.

"Should we tell the authorities that this new pod looks exactly like the one we have here? They might finally listen now that this is on national television." Veronica asked as she stepped forward and rested her weight on the back of the couch.

"Yes, I think we should. Because if another X-01 automaton has crashed to Earth… then everyone present at the election could be in serious danger."

"X-01… Automaton… is that what we're calling Emmi now?" Robbie asked with an arched eyebrow.

"Yeah, I learned earlier that it's the true name of Emmi's species. She came from the Planet X-01 and apparently I'm married to her now…" I said as I continued staring at the screen, thinking long and hard about what we were going to do next.

"WHAT?" Both Ana, and Veronica yelped as they heard the news.

"Yeah I know, I wasn't expecting it either but…just it kinda happened, look I'll explain everything later. But right now we have bigger fish to fry. We're pretty much the only ones who know what these creatures are and how they behave. We need to go help now, or millions could potentially die." I concluded as Veronica took out her cell phone and after dialing an undisclosed number, put it to her ear and simply waited.

"How far is to the election site from here?" I asked as Robbie was continued staring at the tv.

"I think a little over 6 hours… why? You planning on driving there through a one and a forest? It would make more sense just to fly there." He responded as he lazily turned his head to look at me.

"Well, do we have a plane?" I asked curiously, remembering the existence of the old hangar in the facility.

"No… why would you think we had a plane?"

"Just forget it…" I frustratedly spoke as I sat back on the couch. A surprised squeak followed by a series of giggling came from Emmi as I pushed her against the couch cushions.

"What to do… what to do…" I muttered as I furiously tapped the sides of my temples with my forefingers.

"Zaza look…" Emmi piped up as she pointed a clawed finger over my shoulder and at the tv, "Emmi's sparksister has come to Earth to visit us!" She happily squealed as the aerial footage being played again on screen.

"Sparksister?... Now I'm seriously confused, I feel like It's been none stop exposition this whole chapter… AND it's not even noon…" I exclaimed as I repositioned Emmi so I had my arms round her as she was now sitting beside me. "Anyway, so you do know who this is? Right?" I asked as I pointed at the pod.

"Yes Emmi does know… She is Unit 002, and she has come to Earth to reunite herself with her sparkmate." Emmi innocently replied as she started occupying herself by playing with the fabric of my shirt.

"That's nice… maybe someday I'll get to meet your sparksisters, sparkmate…" I mumbled as I continued thinking, not putting much thought into what Emmi just explained.

"Silly Zaza, you can't meet him… because sparksister 002's sparkmate is Zaza…" She further explained as I just sat there blankly staring at her.

"Uh… what?..."

"Zaza isn't just sparkmates with Emmi, Zaza is sparkmates with Emmi AND all of Emmi's sparksisters." She spoke as she began rubbing her cheek against my shoulder.

"And what pray tell makes someone a sparksister?" I asked Emmi as I looked at her in disbelief.

"OH! Emmi knows this… Sparksisters are two or more femmes that have sparks with the same ID numbers. Mother designed the sparksister bond so to keep all her daughters together, and under the authority of the same sparkmate." Emmi explained as she seemed to space out momentarily.

"So if I understood this correctly… Your sparksister came crashing to Earth, in search of me? And I'm in a married, or in a sparkbond with you, 002… and I guess every other sparksister that has the same spark ID as you… how do I know that there won't be like an invasion of hundreds of automatons all hunting for me?"

"Because Mother has only constructed 10 units… so Zaza no have to worry about an invasion…" Emmi explained as she looked up at me with a big toothy smile.

"Well that's reassuring… I guess. So if we know that she's here for me, then why don't we just go over there and get her." I suggested as I stood up with the belief that this was the plan to end all plans.

"No Zaza can't go, sparksister 002 will kill you… She doesn't know anything about you other than your a human. For all she knows you could be one of the crowd that she crashed into… bond tracking won't work either because the sparkbond is to newly formed, so all 002 has to go off of is the vague emotions coming from you." Emmi explained as she turned around and leaned over the back rest.

"Well, what if we tell her that I'm her sparkmate before she kills me?"

"That won't work, anger and aggression fill her spark. If you approach her, she will kill you even before you can explain. Then after the grief and sadness would drive her to kill this whole planet and perhaps the solar system."

"Wait, I thought you said I was going to live forever?"

"Emmi did… your body is now able to function for longer periods of time. But being physically killed will still cause Zaza to die, Emmi suggests that Zaza wait for the sparkbond to fully save your bodies genetic makeup so that if you do die you come right back."

"Ok, so how long until then?"

"About… one month…" Emmi answered quietly muttered.

"Well, what can we do? If Zero two is as dangerous as you say she is, then everyone at the election site is in grave danger." I pondered as I paced a bit in the spot.

"Emmi can't think of anything…" She dejectedly admitted as she slumped forward.

"Well, I know how you are so maybe if I call and tell them everything I know about you, then they'll know how to handle it…" I suggested with a snap of the fingers.

"No, 002 is nothing like Emmi… just because she has a spark, an Energon Core and uses Energon that's all wrapped inside a body made of nanomachines does not mean she's like Emmi." She explained as she continued sitting there slumped forward.

"Well, what's the difference between the two of you?"

"Everything… Our sparks, chassis, classes, and even personality… Emmi is nothing like any of her sparksisters, each of us are completely different in the way we act and the way our combat systems function." Emmi spoke as I wrapped my hand around her shoulder and pulled her in so that she was now leaning on me.

"Maybe I can try communicating to this Zero Two through the bond? Think that might work?" I asked Emmi as she looked up at me and opened her mouth to speak, but before anything came out Veronica walked back through the doorway.

"Alright, I have just informed the news outlet on our knowledge of the pod that crashed on the electoral grounds. There going to broadcast it so as to calm all the viewers that this 'alien' isn't dangerous." She announced as she stood there proudly as Jonas and Ana walked in soon after.

"WHAT? Why would you do that?" I yelled as I jumped up to confront her. My sudden actions caused Emmi to startle and curl her tail around her body.

"B-because you told us to? Why?... were we supposed not to?" Ana froze and answered in fear.

"NO, I'm mean yes… I mean…" I stuttered as I felt the words refuse to form in my mouth.

Veronica just continued staring until she pointed and asked. "Zack, your eyes are glowing green again… Care to explain?" She spoke as she walked forward and motioned for me to sit.

Leaning my weight against the couches backing I took a deep, cleared my mind, and opened my mouth. "It happens when I'm under heavy emotions, and apparently according to Emmi it's a side effect of this thing called a sparkbond which essentially makes us married."

"See when you calm down and explain things, it not only helps us… but it helps you too." Veronica soothingly spoke as she continued standing there. "So why exactly didn't you want us to alert the people there that the pod isn't dangerous?…"

"Because Emmi knows who this is, and apparently she's doesn't look, or act anything like Emmi… Everyone at the electoral grounds is in grave danger." I spoke as the group locked up. "From what it sounds like this new automaton is built for combat and isn't afraid to kill." I added as Veronica's normal expression broke into one of guilt.

"Well what are we going to do?" Robbie asked as glanced over from the tv.

"I'm not to sure… but I do know that this knew automaton is here for me. After Emmi and I formed the sparkbond I was informed that this new automaton named '002' is sparksisters with Emmi and in turn is here on Earth because apparently the sparkbond includes every one of Emmi's sparksisters in it." I concluded as the group continued looking at me with confusion. "So what I'm saying is, not only am I married to Emmi I'm also married to like 9 other automatons that will eventually be coming to Earth, in search of me." I finished as my lungs had run dry from air.

"Hey congrats on your marriage bud!" Robbie spoke up over the silence.

"Uh, yeah congratulations…" The others followed up as the silence began to get awkward.

"No, not congratulations… do you guys not get it… 9 more lethal Automatons are coming in search of me. AND on top of that none of them know who I am, or what I look like… So it doesn't matter if I, or some random guy goes and confronts it, cause at the end of the day… I fear that a lot of people are going to die." I solemnly spoke with tears in my eyes as I walked around sat back down next to Emmi, who happily hopped onto my lap and curled up against my chest. Completely oblivious to everything that was going on.

"Zaza…" She murmured as her tail began wrapping around me.

"What can we do?" Veronica asked as she walked up and laid a hand on my shoulder. Emmi's emotions spiked in response but then quickly died down after she remembered what I told her earlier.

"Tell someone, anyone to move that pod away from the crowds. At least when she activates it'll the delay her urge to kill everyone that's around her… then we'll have to find a of communicating with her from safety." I answered as I began petting Emmi's soft white hair, while her systems began softly purring.

"I'll contact the authorities right away." Veronica spoke as she turned on a quick heel and made her way back into her room.

As soon as the room was quiet Robbie unmuted the tv, and just as he did so the screen flipped from aerial footage to the lamia reporter who apparently had breaking news. "My supervisors have just told me that a small research team located up in the north have explained that they too have had an encounter with one of these mysterious space pods, and they say that within it there's an alien of robotic origin, that's apparently not dangerous… and with that everyone here at SEED electoral center can breathe easy knowing that we're not in immediate danger."

"No… no… no… this is not good…" I exhaled as I watched on screen a group of male security workers both human and demi alike move in for closer inspection.

'Those guys are going to get themselves killed.' I mentally exhaled once again as the screen switched to aerial drone footage of the security team.

As I continued watching the scene unfold before my eyes, the very close up scene of the dormant pod caused something in the back of my mind to click.

(ARCTiCa Clan Leader; Zack Axel. Visual proximity link established, ARCTiCa units ready for deployment). A large text block read as it suddenly appeared, this time in the back of my mind. It was an odd sensational because not could I see everything in front of me clearly and easily, but I was also able to clearly read this message without any problems.

"Is Zaza okay?" I heard Emmi ask as she looked up with a neutral expression on her faceplate, as if she already knew exactly what was going on.

"Umm… I don't know…" I stammered as I tried to get the message out of my head. After a few seconds it finally disappeared. "A message just appeared in my head saying that zero two is ready for deployment… what should I do?" I asked Emmi as she sat there contemplating for a second.

"Zaza just needs to think; Yes…" Emmi instructed in response to my question.

'Yes... What good is thinking 'Yes' going to do?...' I mentally pondered as the aerial footage on screen suddenly showed the pod come to life.

Bright red lights that flowed and wrapped around the pods curvy exterior shone blindingly bright, illuminating the pod and ground around it. A loud hissing sound was heard as two large doors split the clean surface in two and majestically opened and formed back into the hull of the pod.

'Oh fuck… what did I just do...' I mentally swore as I realized exactly what I had just done.

"That looks exactly like what happened Emmi's pod did when it activated, only her pod had bright pink lights instead of red ones…" Robbie mumbled without breaking contact with the tv screen.

"This isn't good… I think I just activated the pod…" I said as stood up rapidly leaving both the tv and Emmi behind, and quickly made my way towards Veronica's room. Where I could very clearly hear her talking in the phone through the door.

"What… how could you possibly do that?" Jonas asked as he stood in the kitchen doorway.

Without even giving a second of acknowledgement I went right up to Veronica's door and knocked firmly and loudly.

 ** _BAM, BAM, BAM_**

"Just give me a moment, and I'll be right there…" I heard her voice respond as I stood there waiting for a few seconds, impatiently I tapped my foot and paced back and forth as I waited.

Suddenly as I stood there waiting, I felt something erupt through the bond. The feelings of aggression, lust, sedition, and seduction flooded through me as I felt my consciousness get swept away with the flow. It was unlike anything I had ever experienced before, but before I could mentally steady myself, I felt the aggressive feelings slowly fading away into the background. Leaving me to open an eye to find myself flat on the ground.

"...Z...a..ck..!..." I heard a muffled scream as everything the walls and ceiling started to become fuzzy, and blurry… the straight lines of the walls and baseboards danced back and forth like paper strings in the wind…

"...W...ha...t…...ha...ppe...ne...d?..." Another voice called out as Veronica's face moved into my field of view.

"Don't worry… Zaza will be okay…" I heard Emmi speak up with surprising clarity in her voice, as she placed a clawed polymer hand on my arm and began wrapping her long smooth tail around my numb body. It almost all felt as if her voice was inside my mind.

"...how… c..an… yo...u...kno….w?..." A male, either Robbie or Jonas asked from out of my view.

"Hehe, Zaza has only experienced an emotional overload… Zaza will wake up soon, but for now Emmi will cuddle her Zaza…" I heard Emmi speak as she lifted my body up and carefully brought me into our bedroom. Just before I blacked out completely she looked me in the eye and smiled warmly…

Her bright pink optics were the last thing to flash through my mind as my entire consciousness collapsed in on itself, suddenly everything became bright like the day just before everything went…

 **Black…**

 _ **A big thank you to all who read this new chapter, and who are following this story as a whole… your support means more than you can imagine.**_

 _ **NOW, down to business... To be honest, I found that this chapter kinda turned out a little slow and tedious... BUT, rest assured this is all a big lead up to some epic adventures to come... this was one of those chapters that's more of a need rather than a want... so bear with me.**_ _ **In this chapter**_ _ **I uncovered a ton of lore about Emmi's species, her mother, what both of them are, and where they came from and why they've come to Earth…**_

 _ **IF ANYONE, And I mean if ANYONE is confused by the lore in this chapter... then I urge you to go check out my 'species info sheet' posted as a story on my profile. There it explains everything there is about the X-01 species, and later on I will be dropping detailed chapters on each of the ARCTiCa clans femmes. So stay tuned!**_

 _ **And if it seems like I'm writing stuff then immediately contradicting myself, it's because your in Zacks perspective and he doesn't know everything… rest assured I have everything planned out, and the only thing I've really made up on the spot was when the group was talking about that old Ferrari. So everything including giving her species a name, then immediately correcting that, was all planned… But one thing that I did change was I corrected Emmi's height from 5 ft to 4 ft... just wanted to clear that up, I kinda changed that last minute when I realized 5ft was way to tall for a loli.**_

 _ **Regardless, I hope you all enjoyed this new chapter, and even if it was just a little bit I want you to like and follow this story. Because I'm hoping for my updates to become more regular, and if I know that people want it, I will make that a reality. Again sorry for the long delay, thank you for your support and I'll catch you all on the next one.**_

 _ **Until next time...**_


	5. Entry: A5

"...D.. ar...li...ng…."

"...Da..rli...ng…. co...me…..t..o…..m..e..."

"...Darling… I will find you…" A muffled, synthetic female sounding voice called out through my mind as I floated in a darkened dream state.

"...Don't make me hunt you down… my, D-aaa-r-ling!.." She continued with a sugary sweet tone that was laced with seduction, lust and sadistion. Just after her voice cut out I snapped myself awake and threw my eyes open, frantically searching throughout the dimly lit room in search of whoever I heard in the dream.

To my disappointment and mild shock I found that I was lying in bed, under the covers, with Emmi's tail loosely tangled around my limbs, all while her small body was curled around my head. Just like any other morning, and unlike how I remember yesterday ending with me passing out.

"What the hell?" I exhaled as I pulled my arm free from Emmi's coils and brought a shaky hand to my sweat covered forehead.

"Hunt me down?... who was that?..." I asked myself as I slowly rested back on the bed, returning my head and shoulders once again into Emmi's expecting grasp.

"Is Zaza feeling ok?" Emmi asked softly as she opened one of her bright pink optics at me. Illuminating half the room in process. The feelings of concern and worry leaked through the bond as she lay there staring at me.

"Yeah I think so…" I responded as I reached back to pet her soft hair, a faint squeak of delight escaping her closed lips as I did so. "So… what happened last night? I remember passing out, but then I awoke in the bed like usual… so did you?..."

"Yes, Emmi moved Zaza to bed so she could sleep with him… Emmi wanted to make Zaza feel safe and well rested for when he wakes up and goes to meet sparksister 002." Emmi sang happily as she leaned forward slightly, and realization hit me hard.

"Emmi… did I, or did I not… activate Zero Two, and set her loose in the election site where millions are in attendance throughout the grounds?" I asked slowly as I closed my eyes and Emmi laid a gentle, cool to the touch, clawed hand over top my face.

"Zaza did…" She quietly answered as she curled her tail just that much tighter.

"And in doing so risking the lives of everyone present?" I added.

"...yes…" Emmi added hesitantly.

"Ugh… What if we just stay here in this nice warm bed and wait till all this blows over." I asked as Emmi systems continued purring happily.

"Emmi likes that idea… but Emmi also knows that Zaza still needs to go." She answered solemnly. "And maybe Zaza could take Emmi with him, when he goes?" She added hesitantly.

"Of course your coming with me, you know that I would never leave you behind… Also I have like no clue to what I'll be going up against be going up, so you're kinda my only lead here…" I answered as I began picturing all that could have happened while I slept.

"Hearing Zaza say that makes Emmi's spark feel all warm and happy..." Emmi chirped as she continued laying around my head.

"Well that's enough lazing about, let's get a move one Emmi." I spoke as I threw by body forward into a sitting position and got out of bed. "We have a femme to retrieve."

"But Emmi wants to sleep more." She whined as she rolled over onto her knees, her long white tail lazily sprawled out covering the majority of the bed.

"Well tough." I spoke as I threw on my usual clothing. "If you don't get up now, then I'm going to leave you lying here all alone." I threatened as Emmi looked up with defeat on her face plate.

"Oookay…" Emmi admitted in defeat as she stood up and slowly walked over to me.

With a the swoop of a swift arm I reached around her small body and threw her onto my back.

"Yay, that was fun!... Zaza do it again! do it again!" She exclaimed as I walked out the room, all while her long polymer tail lightly dragged against the cold concrete floor.

"Zack! Thank god you're alright, you gave us all quite a scare last night… despite what Emmi said to reassure us." Veronica spoke as she looked up from her laptop worryingly.

"Is everything ok? You all seem super stressed, like way more than you should be…" I asked as I looked at the mess that had enveloped the main room, numerous papers and laptops littered the couches and every countertop on sight.

Each paper had charts and frequencies printed in tiny fonts on them and the large group of laptops all seemed to be linked up together by a messy web of cables. Each monitor displaying the same program that seemed to be scanning the globe for something.

"Zack we messed up bad… somehow, somewhere we found out that we're the ones who caused the pod to activate… and now, this..." Ana voiced on the brink of tears as she walked into the main room pointing distinctly at the large flat screen.

On it was a paused recording depicting something that happened on the news earlier this morning, maybe an hour after sunrise.

She walked forward and grabbed the remote that was resting on the couches armrest. With a click she rewound the footage and there onscreen was something that made my blood run cold.

There right in front of me, displayed on screen was a paused image showcasing two beautiful looking automaton femmes standing there on the electoral stage with their limbs transformed into intimidating energy weapons. All primed and aimed at a group of terrified looking hostages both human and demi of both genders.

"What the hell? When did this happen?" I asked as looked at the group, who looked like they haven't slept all night.

"This morning…" Veronica spoke as Robbie walked in with another stack of cups and a fresh piping hot brew. "When the pod first activated yesterday, in a showy display on the news, nothing really happened… everyone waited around patiently into the night for something to happen, us included… but nothing ever did, so eventually the masses left for home and the news crews turned off there cameras and packed away for the night… Fast forward to day break and at this time everyone had returned from their homes and were now back on the election grounds… then suddenly out of nowhere these two female robots launch out of those pods and storm up to the main stage that was full of delegates, candidates, and other government officials with their big scary weapons at the ready." Veronica ended with a heavy inhale of much needed air as she followed up that with a deep gulp of coffee.

"Wait, did you say that two femmes got out of that one pod?" I asked as I simply just stood there.

"Uh… no, apparently there was another pod that landed somewhere in a forest not to far off, no one knew about it until this morning when a group of locals reported it to the news broadcasters." Ana answered as Veronica visually had her mouth full and clearly wasn't expecting to answer another question so soon.

"And it gets worse… listen to this…" Ana said with a suppressed yawn as she reached forward and clicked the play button on the remote.

"Earthen organics, I am X-01 Automaton unit - 005, and this is my sparksister, unit - 002… we have come to your planet in search of our Darling sparkmate. Surrender him now or face the destruction of your world." A femme with bright, arctic blue optics said with a neutral, emotionless tone as she turned and looked directly at the camera lens, which zoomed in dramatically as she spoke.

"We will give you 24 of your Earth hours to give him up OR were going to have a fun time slaughtering each and every one of you pathetic organics till we find him ourselves." The second femme added as she flashed a scary, sadistic looking smile as her bright, lava red optics burned towards the camera.

"This all happened just an hour ago…" Ana said with a terrified voice as she paused the recording and started scrolling through the settings of the tv to switch the input back to the news.

"It's crazy to think that these robots are so much different from our beloved Emmi… I mean there threatening the whole planet just for someone that's there 'sparkmate'... and if no one gives these murder bots what they want, they'll apparently kill all of us..." Veronica added as she stood up and joined Robbie who was sitting on the couch, and typing something fierce on his laptop.

"But to be fair, Emmi wasn't exactly, docile, when she first activated. And only really calmed down after Zack arrived and went balls first into the cage." Robbie added as he paused his furious typing.

"So… what you're saying is, if Zack was able to calm Emmi, then maybe he'll be able to do that with these two." Jonas suggested as stood there fidgeting slightly.

"No, that work… Emmi and I discussed this yesterday, and apparently they'll kill me before I can work my magic." I replied halfheartedly.

"Well… then I guess we're gonna have to find this sparkmate guy there searching for and hand him over, or we're all going to die." Jonas committed with a smile of victory.

"Yeah… well… about that, you see... I'm that sparkmate guy there looking for." I admitted with an awkward half smirk, half guilty, expression on my face.

"You?..." Jonas started but was quickly silenced by Ana with quick hand to the ribs.

"Let me explain…" I quickly spoke as Veronica let out a gawking sound at the news she had just heard. "Yesterday, I formed something called a sparkbond with Emmi, essentially bonding us together in marriage and holy matrimony, all that stuff… Only thing is that this bond, which I was pretty much forced into, had some interesting stuff in the fine print."

"So… how does all that make you this sparkmate that these two are looking for?" Veronica asked sceptically as she motioned towards the tv.

"The sparkbond that bonded Emmi and I together, also included all of Emmi's sparksisters… So in short, I'm married to Emmi, these two new automatons and I guess any other X-01 automaton that comes looking for 'there sparkmate'."

"Alright, that kind of makes sense… are you positive that your the one there looking for, I mean maybe they're here for a sparkmate, other than you… but let's say that it's you there after, how do we know that there won't be, like an entire invasion of these robots all coming to Earth for you?" Veronica questioned.

"Your lucky that I asked all of those questions yesterday to Emmi… The sparkbond that I'm apart of is the first in existence, meaning that there is no other sparkmate that they could be searching for. And we don't have to fear an invasion because Emmi told me that there are only around 10 units in existence, that's including Emmi… and she's sparksisters with each and everyone of them." I told as team appeared to be spacing out.

"I'm guessing that a sparksister, is what Emmi's sisters are referred to as…" Veronica spoke up.

"Sort of… sparksisters are two or more femmes who have to the spark ID numbers… and before you ask, sparks are the heart, soul, and mind of an X-01 automaton… it's kind of the basis of many of there words, terms and definitions… both when it comes to the name and functionality."

"Yeah… alright, I'm gonna need more coffee…" Veronica spoke as she rubbed her face and began making her way towards the kitchen.

"Sooo… other than confusing the living hell out of us… what exactly does all this mean?" Robbie asked as he closed his laptop and shifted his whole body to face me.

"I think it means we know exactly who these robot chicks are after… and… uh, that's about it…" Jonas piped up, just after Ana had left to get more coffee from the kitchen.

"Pretty much, all we really have to do is… tell them who and where I am." I proposed as Emmi made a subtle grunt of disapproval. "Zaza also has to do this without getting killed by Emmi's sparksisters… they don't really know who Zaza is so if he goes up to them, they'll just end up killing him." Emmi piped up from behind me.

"That just sounds stupid. They come here looking for one guy, they threatened the whole planet… but if you do go up saying that your the one there looking for, they'll kill you…" Jonas added as he looked at Emmi as if her whole species was retarded.

"Yeah that pretty much sums it all up…" I said with a suppressed laugh as Emmi puffed her cheeks out in an adorable show of anger and disapproval. "But I still can't think of anyway to communicate with them, while still staying alive." I concluded as a long silence filled the room.

Robbie in turn cleared his throat and turned on the tv, and switched the news station off mute.

"We still have yet to receive any word on who or what this sparkmate, that these two robotic extraterrestrials are asking for, may be…" The lamia reporter said with the stage in the background.

"We are closely monitoring Earth's digital communication grid for the location of our sparkmate. Any attempts to fake locations will result in the organics destruction." The blue optics femme spoke as the camera zoomed in on her.

"We have also recently detected the movement of large Earthen military weaponry, if any hostile attempts are made towards us, then I will gladly destroy any and all personnel and armaments with maximum pain and suffering." The red optic red femme threatened with her previous scary and sadistic smile and just a hint of seduction.

"So that's it, if there closely watching our internet… then all we have to do is attempt to talk to them through that." I suggested.

"But they also said they'll destroy anyone who tries to give a fake location… I don't think we should do that, it just sounds to risky…" Veronica suggested as she came back with a tray full of steaming mugs.

"Well this isn't really going anywhere… so how about we catch you readers later on, after we've made some sort of break through… in the meantime, why don't you go to the election site, there's bound to be more action there then there is here. We'll catch up at a later date." I spoke suddenly as the group was busy grabbing there mugs.

"Oh, yeah… the readers, I kinda forgot about them… anyway, don't let us keep you…" Veronica replied as she took as sip of her drink.

"Bye bye…" Emmi ended with as we all leaned into look at the software Robbie had been modifying. And from the looks of it, if this program works, then it'll make all that's bound to come happen a lot easier.

 **o0o… at the election site …o0o**

"Organics, do not make any attempt to escape or rebel while I make a preliminary scan of your data net." The blue opticed 005 threatened as she stood there facing the hostages with a neutral, emotionless expression on her face plate.

"Y-yes… of course… we won't try anything… you have our word.." A Minotaur in a nice fitting tailored suit said as he stood there shaking in fear, completely opposite to how Minotaurs usually act, with there brave masculine personality and large muscular bodies.

"It's really to bad that you organics are to scared to try anything, cause I've been just dy~ying to know how easily your brains can be turned inside out…" The red opticed 002 sinisterly giggled as she walked up the group with a terrifying smile. Then suddenly she flicked her arm to the side allowing a large energy gun to transform around her forearm. Then she reached forward, grabbed the Minotaur by the back of neck and firmly planted it against forehead.

"Care to try it out anyway?" 002 smiled sadistically as her lava red optics burned towards the minotaurs, which were full of fear.

"Sister, don't do that… we're merely here for information… and we would like to keep the casualties as low as possible." 005 instructed as her systems returned from heavily scanning the internet.

"Fii~iine… ruin my fun…" 002 spoke as she removed the barrel from his forehead and walked back over to her sister.

"So… did you find anything?" 002 asked as she bobbed her head left and right, causing her hair… or more accurately her; long, tentacle like, twin tail antennas, to swing gently amongst the open air.

"No… and just our luck too, we landed in the most densely occupied part of Earth, and none of these useless organics have any clue what we're after." 005 spoke with agitation peeking through her cold, and uncaring facade.

"If I may ask… who is it that you're looking for?" Linda the centaur asked as she continued standing there on stage in a circle of hostages.

"We've made it perfectly clear what our demands are… bring us our sparkmate or die… preferably both!" 002 burned as she turned around to face the centaur. Her optics creating minor flames that were quickly dispersed by the days light breeze.

"We're looking for our Darling sparkmate… our beloved human that our sister unit 004 recently formed a sparkbond with, and we have come in search of him." 005 patiently explained as her singular ponytail antennae hung beautifully from behind her head. 005's antennae hair closely resembled that of her sisters dual twin tails, the only difference was that the two, long flexible antennas, (that oddly resembled the general design of a novelty wooden snake found on Earth) were tied back and looked just like a long ponytail braid located on the back of her helm.

"Well… perhaps if you were to explain what he looks like then we could arrange a search team for hi-" The Minotaur suggested but was quickly cut off when 002 tightly grabbed his throat and hoisted his large body into the air.

"We don't need your help organic… we're going to find him on our own…" 002 spoke as she continued holding the 400 pound Minotaur in the air,

"You have no idea, how badly I want to slice you up with a plasma blade… but my sister has told me to attempt to keep the casualties to a minimum, so as to not create mass panic in our sparkmate when we meet him." 002 added as she returned the choking Minotaur back on the ground.

"I...thank you…" he gasped as he fell to his knees and began gasping for air, Linda and another candidate immediately dropped to there to the ground to check if he was alright.

"You monster! You think you can come here and just start bullying us? Well you can't… you need to apologize… now!…" A short dog girl called out from the back of the group. Causing 002 to redirect her attention towards her.

"Your fiesta for such a small… little, thing. Your organic body is going to stuff nicely, then I'll give your preserved corpse to my Darling… as gift. " 002 spoke with a terrifying smile as she walked up to the scared little canine. 005 continued standing still and did not object to her sisters actions. "Sister… do you think that our Darling sparkmate would like it if we brought him a present?" 002 added as she bent over slightly and grabbed the canines jaw, and wrenched her head so that she was looking the scared puppy straight in her eyes.

"I think he would like that dearly… but at this rate we might never find him." 005 spoke longingly, as her expression and tone never changed in the slightest.

"Uhh… no, I-I-I'm s-sorry… I didn't mean it, I-i only wanted to…to..." The small dog girl stuttered on the verge of tears as she stood there shaking in complete fear.

"Leave her alone." Linda said nobly as she stepped bravely in front of 002 and the dog girl in her grasp. "If you have any honour, you will know that it's not right to pick on the weak and defenceless… leave her alone."

"These organics are starting to wear on my processor." 002 muttered as she stood up straight and looked the centaur dead in the eye. All while one of her long twin tail antennas began sneaking around the backside of her chassis until it was raised up menacingly from over her shoulder. The centaurs eyes went wide when she noticed the crackling arc of electricity on the tip of the automatons 'hair'. But before she had the chance to react 002 lunged her antennae forward into the centaurs large vulnerable chest, shocking her with close to 400 volts. Leaving her lying on the ground twitching and convulsing, completely passed out.

"That was a warning, any other protestors or hero's will be killed without mercy or remorse… just try me, I am just dripping with the urge to kill you all." 002 sinisterly announced as she walked back over to her sister, who continued watching without an ounce of emotion present.

"It's odd, I'm detecting that this is being broadcasted all over the globe, but for some reason he hasn't contacted us yet." 005 pondered as she began pacing the stage.

"Odd indeed, perhaps we should relay some instructions to our Darling… then he'll know what to do when he sees them…" 002 responded as she brought an armoured polymer hand to her chin. "Ugh… I feel just awful knowing that our Darling is somewhere out there, confused, unprotected, and most likely locked away in one of these devious organics vaults."

"It's worth a try…" 005 spoke as her blue optics brightened significantly, the small red details that made up her irises became completely masked by the immense overload of bright blues. "I have broadcasted a message along instructions throughout all of Earth's relays and television channels." She added as her optics returned to there normal colour.

"I hope something comes up soon… or else I'm gonna end up wasting half the organics here out of sheer boredom… then the other half just because it's fun!" 002 spoke as she brought one of twin tails around in front of her chassis and looked at it.

"That's understandable, sister…" 005 droned.

"Oh… my spark just longs for when I'll be able hold my Darling close and keep his weak organic body safely protected from this dangerous world." 002 spoke longingly as she reached up and clenched her antenna tightly in her open armoured hands. "I'd keep him safe, and loved… I'd make sure no one ever touched him again, I'd wrap my arms and antennas around him and lull him to sleep…" 002 rambled under her breathe as she stood there. "AND I WOULD KILL ANYONE WHO DARE SET THERE WORTHLESS EYES ON MY PRECIOUS DARLING!" She ended with a ferocious scream as her sparksister continued staring at her without phasing in the slightest.

"Hmm, Yes I agree… that all does sound nice…" 005 spoke with a small smile as she shook her head, letting her thick, flexible, tentacle like braid swing gracefully behind her helm.

"Maybe… we should speed things up by executing hostages, that might finally cause these worthless Earthlings to release our Darling from there cruel containment's." 002 suggested as she rose her arm and around it formed massive, lava red, energy sword.

"But… were not… holding anyone hostage… we don't know what your talking about, please don't kill us… we would tell you if we only knew." The Minotaur fearfully explained as he took a step backwards

"Hmm… sister, I detect through the organics voice and demeanour… that he's telling the truth…" 005 spoke as she put a hand on her sisters shoulder.

"So… our Darling isn't being held hostage? Or at least not by this one organic…" 002 spoke pondered as she dropped her aggressive stature at the sound of her sparksisters voice, and simply stood back up straight.

"I believe this organic is the ruler of the other organics… if it doesn't know, or is tricking itself into lying, then odds are that the others have also been brainwashed into believing that too. It is possible that hostile containment could explain why our Darling hasn't contacted us. But just to sure I'm going to perform an extensive search of every single electronic device that's in or around Earth… then afterwards we'll address the hostages." 005 instructed as her optics dimmed significantly once again while the majority of her systems performed the extensively task of thoroughly searching every piece of technology on Earth.

"Results have turned up... negative… it seems like there may be no way to locate our sparkmates position, other than thoroughly searching every nanometer of this entire planet's mass. Regardless we may now proceed with the destruction of these organic hostages." 005 spoke with a tinge of disappointment and sadness scraping against her cold demeanour as she and her sister began ominously walking to towards the hostages, who in turn took a fearful step back out of reflex.

"Your destruction and dismemberment will contribute nicely to our data banks knowledge on how you organics function." 002 smiled as she grabbed the dog girl and picked her up by the wrists.

"Agreed… your pitiful organic bodies will graciously expand our understanding on how to optimally take care of our human… we thank you from the center of our sparks for your meaningless existence and your subpar cooperation." 005 blankly spoke as she formed a thin plasma samurai sword into the open grasp of her hand.

With clenched digits and a firm grasp, 005 brought the bright glowing energy sword above her head, and coldly stared at the screaming dog girl, straight in the eyes.

"No, please… don't kill me…" The canine loudly pleaded with tears rolling down her eyes as 005 swiftly thrusted the sword downwards, aimed straight towards her furry doggy head.

The dog girl, along with every other hostage and person in range, winced with clenched eyes as they patiently, yet fearfully waited for the impending execution of the poor, helpless pup…

But nothing ever happened, not a single scream nor cry of anguish was heard from the pup, as it seemed like in that moment the entire planet itself fell ghostly silent… for no one dared to make a sound.

Nervously, almost everyone world wide slowly opened there eyes in unison to see before them the young pup, hang there terrified by her wrists, crying tears of terror… but meraciosly was without harm. Collectively everyone breathed a sigh of relief as from what could have become of the situation.

Hanging mere millimeters away from the dog girls head was the glowing, energy blade. Still being wielded by the seemingly emotionless, blue opticed automaton… Who, for whatever reason was standing there acting quite, lifeless…

005's optics were now an opaque, glossy colour and her chassis stood stiff like a stone statue. Along with 002 who also was standing there in that same peculiar way, all while she continued tightly holding the squirming canine high in the air.

The winds slight breeze no longer managing to swing the two femmes antennas.

"What just happened?" The Minotaur asked out loud as a few of the hostages cautiously moved forward to try to free the dangling canine, but with no avail.

"Who cares what happened? JUST GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!" The dog girl desperately yelled as the male arachnid of the group walked up and began attempting to muscle her free.

"Yeesh, just relax Trix I'll get you down as soon as possible…" A male arachnid answered as he further attempted to free the dog girl.

"I'm relaxed, why would you think I'm not relaxed?… I'm the most relaxed canine around… SO PLEEEASE GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!" Trix screamed as she thrashed around violently within 002's tight grasp.

"Yeah, yeah… I'm working on it." The arachnid replied nonchalantly with a roll of all his eight of his red eyes.

"It's like they just… froze up and stopped working…" One of the human females voiced as she walked up to 005's chassis, stretched her body onto the tips of her toes, and began waving a hand directly in front of 005's frozen faceplate and glazed optics. While poking it intermittently with her index finger.

"No wait… don't do that…" The Minotaur hissed in objection to the woman's actions, just moments before both automatons silently hummed back to life. Returning from there odd, stone like trance.

Simultaneously, both reactivated femmes looked up at each other in absolute bewilderment. There long flexible, tentacles like antennas were now gently swinging amongst the breeze, unlike how there were mere moments ago, when they were behaving quite stagnantly… The group of hostages reflexively took a few steps back from the two dangerous automatons when all this began taking place.

"Sister, did you feel that?" 002 excitedly asked as she turned her chassis to face her sister all while she still held Trix high to the sky.

"Certainly… that was undoubtedly the emotions from our sparkmate… he has finally initiated the emotional connections." 005 responded in her usual manner.

"Agreed, however I am left wondering why our Darling seemed... upset, and angry…" 002 pondered as she loosened her grip on Trix and brought her armoured hand to her chin, causing Trix's relatively small body to fall into the open arms of Michael the arachnid.

"That and his emotions also felt… sad, desperate and worried… what do you suppose this sudden emotional input signifies?" 005 queried as the two femmes continued ignoring the group of hostages who were slowly attempting to make a get away. "Regardless, this sudden spike in foreign emotional activity signifies that our sparkmate as seen, reacted or objected to our actions… My hypothesis is that he has been watching us this whole time through the news broadcast, and after thoroughly watching and studying our behaviours and abilities has decided to intervene. So in short I believe our beloved Darling has finally chosen to claim us as his femmes." 005 concluded with her usual cold demeanour.

"That conclusion is logical… however do you suppose that he is displeased with our overall performance? His emotions did seem to portray him as feeling displeasure and anger… was it something we did?" 002 asked nervously as both automatons looked at each other slight fear in there optics.

"Perhaps… but even if our Darling is displeased with our performance we now know that he's trying to communicate with us… I suggest we track his emotions and travel to his location to unite with him…" 005 suggested as a small crack of a smile began to form on her face plate.

"Oh I just can't wait to meet him… from what I've felt so far… he's sweet, and kind, he worries about others, all while having an aggressive… fiery side to him. And that was only off an emotional burst of a few seconds, just imagine what he's like in person..." 002 swooned as she clasped her hands together overtop her massive breast like Energon tanks, and began swinging and rocking her chassis gently left and right.

"Agreed, our Darling sparkmate certainly does sound… dreamy…" 005 also swooned as she began interlacing her fingers in amongst one another, all while rocking her chassis back and forth. "What are we waiting for? Our sparkmate has summoned us and we expect to keep him waiting?" 005 spoke suddenly snapping both femmes out of there trance.

"Apologies, my processor seemed to have gotten caught up in a loop while I was imagining myself spending time with my Darling…" 002 admitted as she shook her head and antennas free of that pleasurable thought.

"That's natural, currently I am resisting the urge to imagine such things or else I'll run the risk of losing control of my weapons and combat systems…" 005 admitted as she stopped holding her own hand and resumed her usual neutral stance.

"I hope our Darling is cute… it doesn't really matter but it'll make this all so much sweeter…" 002 murmured to herself as her sister turned on a sharp heel to face the group of hostages.

"Our mission has been accomplished, organic hostages you are free to resume your previous activities and we thank you for your partial cooperation." 005 recited to the hostage group as they were attempting to slowly inch away from the two dangerous automaton femmes.

"Uh… no problem… thank you… for, not killing us?..." The Minotaur hesitantly spoke up for the group as they ceased there getaway.

Ignoring the attempts of conversation the Minotaur was making, 005 turned away to face 002 once again. With one smooth motion 005 completely straightened her posture out, and lifted her arms up around halfway. Then around her arms and out of her shoulder blades formed 4 beautifully massive, polymer wings, with equally as pretty blue plasma detailing whose light danced and shimmered off the semi reflective surface of her wings.

Then just as suddenly had her wings appeared, 005 strongly flapped her new winged appendages down towards the ground causing her to rocket up high into the sky. Disappearing completely behind the clouds mere seconds after launch.

Following the sudden disappearance of the now winged 005, was an ear splitting sonic boom that shook all 3.2 million in attendance and thoroughly rumbled the land and buildings below. Leaving all that witnesses her take off to stare wondering at the sky and all those who didn't to look around worrying until there gaze landed on a bright blue stream of smoke majestically leading up into the thick cloud layer.

"Just remember! I'll kill anyone who dares pose a threat to my Darling!" 002 smiled sinisterly as she took a stance similar to that of Ironman, then out of her hands and feet burned a bright, lava red flame that blasted her chassis up and into the thick cloud layer that was some 1000 ft up.

And with that both automatons had officially left the election site. Flown off without a trace to an unknown location at supersonic speeds.

The group of 15 hostages, along with every other guest present at the election site, was left to just stand around and wonder 'what exactly had just happened?' on all that had just taken place, going from the activation all the to the departure.

As the air around the site began to fill up with murmurer and chatter over what this all means, the small group on stage all took a collective breath of relief… but immediately halted there silent celebrations as each of them realized that this won't be the last time Earth has seen, or interacted with this new alien species.

"That… was to close…" A cat girl amongst the hostage group spoke up.

"Your telling me, we sure dodged the bullet there… I was almost certain that those alien robots chicks were gonna kill us!" Michael smirked as he continued holding the terrified Trix in his arms.

"Well… at least there gone…" Trix shakily voiced as her fur stood on end.

"Exactly, there gone… and were safe, so maybe now we can get on with the election?" A human male said from the back of the group.

"...uh, yeah… sure, that sounds good…" Was the generic answer that the majority of the hostage group answered with.

A small medic group of Demi ran on stage and immediately began treating and carrying away the now fast asleep Linda that was on the stage floor.

"Alright, let's do that… we'll resume the election and try to forget any of this happened." The Minotaur suggested as the medic team ran off with the centaur.

"But, as much as our survival is a cause for celebration, we will have to be careful in the future… because I am sure that wherever those two mechanical ladies are, and whoever they might be with right now… this will not be the last we've seen or heard of them." The Minotaur concluded as everyone in earshot froze up momentarily, but after a few seconds the group ran and split off to rejoin their respective posts so as to get the election back up and running.

"That was to damn close… what's the point of SEED if we can't even get along with the first aliens we have encountered." He murmured under his breath as he too walked off stage.

 ** _A/N: Well, well guess who has come back from the dead... yeah I'm sorry for the long update delay but this chapter took a really long time to make, or at least the second part did. Anyway so_** ** _what did you guys think of the new automatons? Leave a comment below telling me what you think of them... or not, I know I don't have many commenters here..._**

 ** _Regardless, I feel like this chapter didn't flow 100% right, and I don't know whether that was because it was a lot of new topics, scenes, and new characters introduced in it or if I'm just getting shittier as a writer, I'm sorry if you noticed it, but if you didn't well... nevermind._**

 ** _I also noticed while editing that this a few of my descriptions are rather long, tedious, and repetitive. Especially on the two automatons 'antennas' and weaponry. And that's because just like how Emmi's tail is a big part of her character, those hair like antennas that hand from the sides of there helms (heads) and that resemble the anime girl tail hair style are REALLY important to there character, especially 002 (005 as stated only has one and is located behind her helm, like a ponytail... pls don't make me have to describe a ponytail.) anyway_ _If your having a hard time grasping what they look like then just google 'anime twintail' and look at the girls in google images... you'll see the generic hair style I'm aiming for when it comes to 002. Also there weaponry is very important so just, keep an open mind and visualize the weapons like I describe them, hopefully it all make sense in the long run._**

 ** _Now a few of you might be thinking... 2 months just for a lousy 6k chapter, hells up with that? And_ _my answer to that is... the full thing was to fucking long. The remainder of the chapter will be posted either on Christmas Day or on another day that week. I think you guys will really like it as it's nothing but interactions between 002, 005, Emmi, Zack and the rest of the team... and yes they get names... duh..._**

 ** _Until next time..._**


	6. Entry: A6

"So, do you think that 'bond' messaging thing worked? Is the site now clear of those two automatons?" Robbie asked as he laid a gentle hand on my shoulder, all while the slight feelings of disapproval and anger came emanating through the bond, from Emmi.

"I sure hope so… I don't think I could live with myself if I was the one responsible for letting those two loose and they ended up killing millions of people." I answered back as Robbie walked back over to Veronica, leaving both Emmi and I seated on the couch.

"Well whatever you did manage to do with that bond thing, you were able to get those robot death machines away from all those people." Ana voiced excitedly as she looked up from her laptop.

"Thanks guys… but to be honest, I don't even know fully what I just did myself… all I did was follow the instructions that they broadcasted into my head… so for all I know I could have just given the go ahead for them to kill everyone, and anyone… although I highly doubt that's the case." I admitted as I wrapped an arm around Emmi and brought her in closer, a muffled squeak was heard as I presumably just interrupted her colouring.

"Zack, none of us really know what's going on… but despite that, what we do know is that you just saved the bacon of everyone over there at the election site… even if you don't feel like a hero, you should… I guarantee there would be a massive body count there if you didn't do what you did." Robbie continued his mini speech of encouragement, while Emmi perked up at the talk of bacon.

"So… what's going to happen now?" Veronica asked skeptically.

"Apparently there going to start the election backup… supposedly every person there that's a part of the crew or is in attendance is just trying to move on and forget what just happened." Jonas spoke as he read off his phone.

"Well… I guess that's finally some good news, I was kind of fearing mass panic over what had just happened." I said as Emmi grunted in disapproval when she, once again, broke her crayon with her sharp clawed hands.

"I kinda meant what's going to happen now that you were able to communicate with those two new automaton femmes?" Veronica clarified as she put her hands on her hips.

"I'm not to sure, to tell you the truth… there message and instructions only specified for me to finalize the emotional connection between them and I… nothing else... but my best guess is that there gonna find someway to lock into my location, then eventually there just going to, show up here…" I spoke with a lacklustre amount of confidence in my voice.

"That doesn't sound very reassuring…" Veronica added with an arched eyebrow.

"No… no it doesn't… honestly guys, I'm pretty scared. You saw along with Emmi and I what they can do and how they act… I mean think about, those two were 2 seconds away from brutally killing that canine, and it would have happened if that sudden shock didn't cause me to finalize the emotional connection right then and there." I went on as I wrapped my arm tighter around Emmi's small chassis.

"That is true, they did seem a little… ruthless, and dangerous… BUT from what we heard take place over the news, it seems like they honestly just want to meet you, there Darling sparkmate!" Ana teased as she leaned onto Jonas who just rolled his eyes in response to his girlfriends antics.

"Yeah your right, although they did seem a little violent towards the others, they really only spoke with admiration towards me… maybe I'll give them a chance." I replied as I glanced over to see Emmi reaching for another crayon.

"Attaboy, give those robot chicks a chance… after all they did come and threaten the whole globe just to be with you… it's a little insane but at the same time, kinda hot…" Robbie said with a wide smile as Veronica brought a sharp elbow to his ribs.

"You guys are right, I'm freaking out over nothing… I'll give them a chance and if they prove themselves worthy, the I'll keep them around." I said as Emmi looked up her colouring book and gave me an adorable, toothy smile.

"But if they start threatening us, we're throwing them out of here." Jonas added without looking up from his phone.

"Sure…… also, I feel like I should give them some names… I think they would like that… I'll start brainstorming and I'll give my final conclusion after I've spent some time with them and thoroughly gotten to know them and their personalities." I answered as I laid my head back on the backing of the couch.

"You know, this wasn't what I was expecting when you came to my house saying you had an 'issue' you needed help with… but I can't imagine what life would be like if I missed out on an opportunity like this." I sentimentally began speaking when a loud (BANG, BANG) came thundering from up the stairs and towards the massive, steel, bulkhead door. Interrupting me mid thought.

"What in the hell?" Jonas asked in surprise as we all jumped upon hearing that sudden and unexpected noise.

"Do you think it's them?" Robbie asked as Veronica looked at him dumbfounded.

"Of course it's them, what? were you expecting some Girl Scouts delivery this far in the middle of nowhere?" She aggressively responded in mild annoyance as she crossed her arm under her chest.

"I'm honestly surprised that they found us this fast." I said as I stood up from the couch, leaving Emmi behind to peer curiously over the couch backing, and began walking towards the dark concrete stairway.

BANG, BANG

Another set of ear splitting metallic bangs came echoing down from the hallways narrow passageway.

"Should we… let them in?" Robbie asked as he began walking closer towards the stairwell. But a light hand on the shoulder halted his pursuit.

"Maybe, we shouldn't… I think there going to get in regardless, but if we go ahead and open the door and go face to face with them, then they could, if not most definitely, kill us…" Veronica corrected as she brought a slender hand to her chin.

"How about I do it? They're already after me, so I figure that if I go face to face with them then they won't kill me." I suggested as I felt something smooth begin to wrap around my leg. Looking down I saw that it was indeed the tip of Emmi's tail slowly sneaking its way around my ankle.

Looking back at the couch I saw that Emmi was cutely peering over it with a dark cloud hovering above her head. "Zaza no go." She firmly stated as she continued her aggressive stalking.

"Is it weird that I want to do it even more now?" I asked as I looked away from the adorable sight and turned back to the rest of the group.

"I think you should listen to her… Emmi's only caring about your safety." Veronica explained as her eyes were following the long winding path that Emmi's tail was maki to reach my leg.

"Yeah fair enough…" I said as I took a step back towards the couch, letting in turn Emmi's tail to wrapping even further up my leg.

"Well this is all fine and dandy… but so far we haven't solved any of the issues present." Ana explained with puffed out cheeks as she crossed her arms over her small chest.

"We're working on it dear…" Veronica spoke as she continued pondering next to Robbie.

"I'm just worried that if we wait to long, then those two are just gonna end up tearing the bulkhead clean-" Ana began protesting but was quickly silenced by the terrifying sound of heavy steel being torn and twisted in half like it was merely paper, then immediately after the sound subsided, fresh rays of sunlight began illuminating the once dark tunnel.

"...Off…" Ana finished her thought with a worrying tone.

"Breach procedure complete… proceeding to infiltration protocols." A metallic sounding female voice spoke just before a series of heavy sounding footsteps rapidly echoed down the concrete tunnel as they made way down the steps. All while a large, curvy looking female shadow blocked a large majority of the bright sunlight beam on the ground.

The steps echoing picked up in pace and the shadow on the ground got larger and larger as one of the femmes speedily made there way down the cold concrete steps.

Then after much anticipation 002 finally emerged from out of the stairwell, her weapons spinning energy weapons were drawn and ready to fire at a moments notice.

She stopped once at the bottom of the stairs and immediately began aiming her intimidating weapons at all of our foreheads, indicated by the bright red laser targeting lights.

"Do not move." 002 threatened as she snapped her head towards Ana who was slowly trying to walk away.

After many more intense seconds of staring into the ends of her barrels, Ana finally succumbed and slowly placed her foot back down on the ground.

"I said, DO NOT MOVE." 002 repeated as both of her twin tail, tentacle antennas lifted menacingly over her shoulders and out of both ends ignited a bright arc of electricity that hissed, and snapped violently towards us.

"Well what are you waiting for? You gonna pull the trigger or what?" I asked as I kept my body perfectly still.

"Negative… injury of sparkmate at 96% probability if violent actions ensure." 002 replied as she continued to be intensely scanning the group of us. But was oddly enough complete ignoring Emmi who was back at it again with her colouring book.

"Sparkmate, reveal yourself." She ordered as she aggressively leaned further into her combat stance and weaponry.

"I'm the one you're looking for… leave the others alone, and come and get me." I answered as I took a step forward, the sound of my voice causing her to rapidly turn her helm to face me, and gaze deep into my eyes and soul.

Her faceplates expression portrayed the emotions of surprise, pleasure, smugness, lust, and victory as she stood up to her full height and began slowly walking over to where I was.

It was at this point when I realized just how tall she actually was, being almost a full foot taller than my 6 ft self. As she walked towards me I naturally took a few fearful steps away from the dangerous 002.

The sadistic smile/smirk on her faceplate didn't change nor waver in the slightest as she kept her speed at a slow yet terrifying pace. The large energy looking Gatling gun weapons that were once on her arms had now seamlessly dissolved and disappeared into her arm, revealing in full her slender yet armoured forearms, wrists and hands. Her pair of hair looking, tentacle antennas were now swinging passively behind her shoulders and back, opposed to how they were a few seconds ago when they were raised up in a threatening way with lightning arcs zapping between the ends of them.

The further she came, the further I retreated… until I had ran out of room and backed myself into a wall. With nowhere left to run, 002's faceplate shifted from her previous sadistic smile to that of a wicked looking, open mouth toothy smirk.

"No wait, I'm the sparkmate you're looking for." Jonas spoke up over the silence of the group and the room in a last ditch heroic effort.

However 002 seemed to have wasted no processing power on Jonas comment as she continued her death march towards me.

With nowhere left to run or hide I quickly looked over at the team who also seemed to be sharing the exact same feelings of terror and fear. But after making a second glance at Emmi I found that she was indeed watching all this unfold. Lying lazily over the backing of couch, with her long tail sprawled over the side of the arm rest and onto the floor, gazing onwards at me pushed up against the wall, with her sparksister quickly closing in… Emmi watched on without a care in the world, almost as if she expected this or that this was just something she didn't need to fear.

Seeing Emmi's calm and collected nature brought my mind at ease as I momentarily closed my eyes…… Upon reopening them my attention was immediately directed towards 002's rather voluptuous chest as she stood about a foot away from me, all while her burning red optics attempted to burn there way into the depths of my soul.

"..." I mumbled with an open mouth as I scrambled to form the right words. But before I could voice my displeasure 002 raised both her arms and pressed them slowly but firmly against the wall. Causing audible cracks to be heard as the concrete gave way to her immense strength all while her armoured forearms created a pair of barriers around either side of my head, preventing any attempt of an escape.

With her fists still imbedded the wall, and my now head boxed in with nowhere left to go. 002 smiled wickedly at me as she began slowly bending down to my level.

"I've finally found you... my Darling..." 002 seductively whispered in my ear as I felt a smooth and damp tongue slowly and sensually make its way across the length my cheek.

"OH WHAT THE FU-" I bellowed loudly, but before I could finish 002 lifted her tentacles from behind her shoulder and gently placed the tip of it over my mouth.

"Shhh… relax Darling." 002 whispered as she effortlessly pulled her fists from out of the walls concrete craters with one smooth motion. Then immediately following that, she began wrapping her arms and hair like tentacles around my back. All ending with me getting a face full of 002's massive cleavage as she unexpectedly pulled me into her embrace.

"I have finally united myself with you, and now that we're together... I'll never let you go." She warmly proclaimed as she began nuzzling her smooth polymer cheek against my hair.

"I am so confused…" Ana mumbled quietly to herself, as her voice carried surprising well throughout the ghostly quiet room. Causing everyone, including 002 to turn and face her, and thus causing Ana to let out an embarrassed 'eep' when she realized that we all had heard her.

"It's pretty simple tiny human female. My goal was to unite myself with my Darling, and now that I have completed that, I will be remaining with him under his guidance and leadership as his protectress and sparkmate until he so wishes for my chassis and spark to be deactivated." 002 answered with a surprising amount of compliance as she rapidly turned her chassis to face Ana.

"Oh… um… thank you?" Ana responded as she awkwardly shuffled and kicked her feet back and forth.

"So… where's the other one?" Jonas asked as he continued observing the large, busty, automaton femme that was currently passionately embracing her human.

"My sister unit, 005, should be arriving shortly… odd though because we were both on the same flight path, I wonder what's keeping her?" 002 pondered as she lifted her head momentarily in thought, then promptly rested it back upon the top of my head.

Then, only moments after we had brought up 005's absence, did a series of footsteps were heard echoing down the concrete corridor. These new steps sounded slightly lighter and more coordinated then the ones previously heard when 002 first arrived.

"I apologize for my late arrival, as well as for the destroyed metal door… my twin sparksister was a little excited and as a result destroyed numerous amounts of your Earth structures during our flight over." 005 announced as she calmly walked out of the stairwell and into the main room with (oddly enough) the mangled remains of what used to be the steel bulkhead hatch door.

"You monsters…" Robbie murmured as he watched 005 heartlessly drop the large crumpled piece of metal onto the floor and began walking gracefully marching towards 002 and I.

"Apologies again Darling, my tardiness, coupled with our actions prior to this meetup does not make for a good first impression with you… however I do wish for your forgiveness along with your patience as I attempt to make this up to you." She coldly admitted with almost zero emotions present as she reached forward and pulled me into her chassis large breasted embrace.

"Uh… sure, I can forgive you…" I answered with my voice slightly muffled from my facing being pushed directly into her large, polymer covered breasts.

"Nonsense Darling, your forgiveness and patience is something that I will have to earn from you… but I thank you regardless for your consideration and leniency." She corrected as she continued holding me in that slightly awkward hug.

It was so incredibly weird… it was almost as if 005 didn't have any emotions in her whatsoever. As any action that she made, whether it was walking or hugging gave off the impression that she wasn't even alive. This made her seem more like an actual lifeless automaton and less like the brilliant mechanical alien that she is… it was especially haunting to think that a regular 4 slot toaster seems more approachable and expressive than 005 could ever be. But criticisms aside and the fact that I've only known of her for a few hours, so surely there's more than meets the eye with her.

Anyway… After many more seconds of me being stuck in 005's 'loving' embrace, I finally managed to pull myself free from her grasp.

"Is something the matter Darling? You look and feel tense." 005 asked worryingly with no physical change in her faceplate or posture whatsoever, as she reached forward to grab ahold of my with no avail.

"I'm sorry… but I'm just having such a hard time reading your expressions. I honestly can't tell if you have any at all." I stated bluntly as she continued to gaze deep into my eyes from her 7 ft tall stature.

"There's no reason for you to feel guilty over asking just a simple question. The reason for my apparent lack of emotions or expression is the result of how my twin sister and I's sparks were divided." She answered simply as she remained staring into my eyes.

"Ah… let me further explain…" She added suddenly, her voice cutting through the silent room as she unexpectedly reached forward, grabbed my hand, and started pulling me towards the couch where Emmi was still patiently watching and waiting.

"You see Darling, 002 and I didn't originally exist during the initial construction of the great multitude of sparks… instead we were once the combination of unit 007's spark, but during development something happened, causing it to grow until it came to the point where it was to powerful/large to be supported by a single chassis. So in response to this our mother, which I've heard you've named Aurora Europa, decided to split the spark into two equal parts for use in two separate units… And as a result this made both 002 and I, twin sparksisters. And to accommodate this, mother so graciously gave us matching classes along with chassis of similar appearance." 005 explained as she and her twin sparksister sat closely on either side of me, on the couch.

"Sooo, I still don't really understand why you act the way you do…" I asked as both automaton femmes leaned heavily on me, completely smothering both my shoulders and biceps there generous set of assets.

"Pretty much what happened is 005 got the cold, mature, analytical side of 007's spark… while I got the rest. That's why she acts the way she does, and I act the way I do, but just because my sister might act emotionless does not mean she is that way, you will just have to get used to her style of showing affections… does it make sense now Darling?" 002 explained as she pushed a polymer cheek up against my flesh one.

"Yeah, surprisingly it all makes sense." I replied as I continued sitting there in between the large set of breasts any one has ever seen.

"That's to be expected, we have dumbed down our explanations so to say, so as not to overly confuse the primitive minds of our organic readers." 005 explained as she slowly began hooking her arm around mine.

It was at this point when Emmi was longingly watching all this unfold from the far side of the couch. She furrowed her optics into a disapproving squint as she hopped down from the far side of the couch and walked up so that she was now standing in between my legs. "Zaza no forget Emmi, she want hugs too!" Emmi piped up as she stood there with complete innocence radiating from her bright pink optics.

"Of course Emmi, I could never forget you." I said as I leaned forward and picked her up. Letting her comfortably rest on my lap and chest all while letting the two new femmes do their thing.

"Speaking of which… Well done 004 for finding us such an excellent human to be our sparkmate, so caring and compassionate all while being curious and decisive, a true leader." 005 spoke as she gradually began tightening her grip on my arm, further pushing myself into her bosom.

"And don't forget being so~ooo deliciously cute. I could just gobble his adorable little body down, and let him sit happily inside my chassis." 002 hummed as she smiled wickedly and seductively licked her lips suggestively.

"Hopefully you don't actually mean that… I don't know nearly enough about your species to know if you can or can't follow up on that… i'm hoping not…" I hesitantly responded as I slowly began shuffling away from her.

"Do not worry Darling, my sister does not mean that in hostility… she is merely expressing our abilities to enclose you inside our chassis. However her poor choice of wording for her explanation does leave room for some miscommunications." 005 explained as she pulled me further towards her.

"Wait, so you can do… what?" I asked in confusion as Emmi continued lying and purring warmly against my chest.

"You see Darling, each of us… including Emmi have different unit ability classes or UAC's. These classes determine what abilities each unit will possess. Emmi as you have named 004 has the monster class, this is why she has a long tail and tongue as well as sharp claws and teeth. Since 002 and I are twins, we share the armour and adaptive classes." 005 clarified as she continued sitting there stoically.

"Our armour class allows for our chassis to fly as well as giving us the ability to safely store a human inside our hollow chassis. Additionally our adaptive class simply lets us do whatever we want with whichever weapon we choose… in a sense it makes up for lazy writing, as it gives us the ability to; create and destroy physical objects; control various metals with our magnetism; and obliterate any adversary with our vast selection of customizable weaponry." 002 added as she continued pushing her large breasts on to me.

"That is a rather brash and simplified explanation of our units abilities, but an accurate one nonetheless." 005 concluded as her body remained eerily still throughout all of this.

"Wow, it's clear that I know nothing about you guys, your abilities, or your species… I feel bad knowing nothing about you two, when you are both very clearly passionate towards me." I admitted as quietly as I kept my head low and avoided eye contact with the two looming femmes.

"Ah don't worry about it Darling, we don't know everything about you either… actually we know nothing about you, except that your a 200 lb, 6 ft tall, human male, and we call you Darling… other than that our memory files are blank." 002 spoke as she wrapped her arm around my arm and pulled me back into her bountiful cleavage.

"Alright… well since it seems that we'll all be spending a considerable amount of time together from now on, how about we take this time to tell each other about ourselves… it'll help us get to know each other as well as helping the rest of the team trust you two a little more." I suggested as I continued rubbing Emmi's head while she began drifting to sleep.

"Ok Darling, that sounds like fun… let's do it!" 002 answered as she pushed herself further on to me.

"I too agree, this activity will not only further boost our systems memory banks general knowledge of you, but it will also serve well for building trust with you and your organic team of non-disposable humans." 005 coldly agreed as she continued sitting there like a statue.

"Uh… right… ok, so my name is Zack Axel, I'm 25 years old and I was raised in northern Canada. Meaning I like the snow, cold weather, and poutine. I discovered Emmi about a week ago and as of yesterday is when I formed the sparkbond with her. My family lives together on a large plot of land just north of Lake Ontario and I am the only one that wasn't turned into a demi human during the outbreak of 2021." I explained as Emmi woke up and began staring at me with wide optics. A quick glance to my left and right confirmed that 002 and 005 were also watching me with that very same intensity. A final glance from out of my peripheral showed that the team was eagerly taking notes from a safe distance behind the couch.

"Darling…" 002 began to question but was cut off with 005 telling her "don't interrupt him."

"No it's fine… I've said what I've wanted to say… so what were you going to ask?" I corrected 005's assumptions as I turned to face 002 as she looked at me intently with her lava red optics.

"Um… so Darling, I'm just wondering when did you give 004 her name?..." She asked in a shy manner as she kept looking at her twin then at Emmi then back at me.

"Um… not long after I first met her when hanging from the tree… why, would you like a name?" I asked with a suppressed smile as I continued watching her reaction.

"...Yes please!" She finally answered after many seconds of silence.

"No… you cannot be asking such things from our Darling, he will gift us such things when he feels we deserve them." 005 coldly spoke as she stood up and looked at 002 in an even colder way.

"Zero Five, sit back down… your sister asked a perfectly legitimate question and I feel that your reaction was kinda uncalled for… if you say your going to be living with me then you are expected to follow basic courtesy and if I feel that one of you has done something wrong, then I alone will choose an act of punishment… understood?" I scolded with unexpected vigor as 005's optics went wide, and a new sense of authority seemed to flow through me, it was almost like my subconscious was telling that I can't just let my femmes fun wild.

"Yes… of course Darling… I understand..." 005 obediently responded as she sat back down and refused to make eye contact with me.

"Good…… So as for names, just know that I've had full intention of giving you them, but the reason I haven't given them to you just yet is because I've been observing your behaviours and personalities so that I could give you a name that would properly fit you guys." I answered as 005 kept her seated form as small and tight as possible, so as not to bring any unnecessary attention to herself.

"And…" 002 impatiently asked as she made a quick glance at their sister, only to find her still seated there, refusing to look at anyone.

"I feel that the name Aiva best suits you Zero Two. And for you Zero Five, I believe Athena is the only name that best fits you." I answered as the newly named Aiva let a bright red drop of lubricant run down from out of the corner of her optics and drip down into the crevice between her breasts.

"Thank you Darling… I won't make you regret this…" Aiva passionately sobbed as she grabbed my head, and pulled it towards her so it was now resting against her breasts.

"I too thank you Darling, I will correct and improve my behaviour and performance so as to make you proud of my unit… you will not regret this choice." 005 now named Athena spoke as she too grabbed my head and pulled into her large cleavage.

"Your welcome?... but to be honest it's wasn't that big of a deal… the main issue was just coming up with a name that I wouldn't regret saying every time I called one of you." I admitted as I finally went back to sitting normally, where I found that Emmi herself was feeling quite neglected at the moment.

"On the contrary Darling, giving us those names was a sign that you truly care for us, and that you have fully accepted us into your life and as a part of your sparkbond." Athena corrected as she began interlacing her digits among mine, while Aiva was sneakily weaving her arm and one of her tentacle antennas around my other arm.

"Yup! So pretty much this means that your last chance to get rid of us is finally gone… we're here to stay with you Darling, forever and ever!" Aiva swooned as she further interlaced her limbs with mine.

"That reminds me Darling, we never finished our information compositing… shall we resume?" Athena asked as she kept her posture and tone emotionless and impossible to read.

"That sounds good to me, let's do it… who wants to go first?" I replied as I felt both Aiva and Athena begin leaning more against my sides.

"ME! I'LL GO FIRST!" Aiva loudly squealed as she lifted her free hand high up into the air.

"Alright, go for it… I also love the enthusiasm." I said as Aiva's faceplate broke into a great big smile.

"Ahh… okay… where to start…" Aiva excitedly rambled as she presumably was trying not to make a fool of herself.

"Don't worry, take your time." I reassured as Aiva became uncharacteristically fidgety and nervous.

"Alright so Darling, my unit number is 002 and as of a today I've been named Aiva… My spark and optics are a bright lava red colour, and my chassis height is exactly 7 ft, along with my total weight being 200 Earth pounds… My unit possess the armour class and, as explained before, it gives me the ability to wrap myself around you or another human of your size just like a suit of armour, this class also mean that my chassis is almost completely hollow… but just because I am in a sense empty does not mean that my chassis structural strength is compromised in any way, my armour ability also allows me to fly like… ironman?... yeah like ironman……… I also possess the adaptive class which in short allows me to make/morph many different kinds weapons onto my frame, as well as being able to control, manipulate, or destroy any form of matter or metal." Aiva finished seemingly out of breath as she visibly was racking her processor and memory banks for what to say next.

"Oh! Also…" Aiva added as she took her two antennas into her slender armoured hands. "These weird looking things that dangle down from either sides of my helm are my antennas… All X-01 Automatons have antennas in some shape or form and they are comparable to human hair, except we can do so much more with ours." Aiva said as she lifted both of her tentacle antennas up and wrapped them loosely around my head, shoulders, and throat. "Emmi here has fibrous antennas, there made out of thousands of thin polymer, nano tubing that gives her an end result that both looks and acts almost exactly like normal human hair… The antennas that Athena and I have are known to as tentacle antennas. There long, flexible, and are able to be controlled as if they were extra set of arms, but with many more points of motion. Also my adaptive class allows for me to grab and manipulate some small, basic items with either end of my antennas, like spinning an eggbeater or firing a projectile based human gun. As you can no doubt see Darling my two tentacle antennae come out of the sides of my helm, resembling quite closely to the anime girl twin tail hairstyle… I also have full independent control over the precise movement for either of my two antennas, allowing me to move them around, form weapons on the ends of either antennae, or alternatively let them hang slack and floppy." Aiva explained as she moved one of her antennae into the palm of my open hand.

"Hehe, you can use any part of my chassis to your pleasure, Darling… especially my large, squishy Energon tanks, that have been perfectly modelled after human breasts." She happily exclaimed as she continued watching me fiddle and play with the tip of her antennae. All while she squished her breasts suggestively together with her free hands.

"Is it my turn now Darling?" Athena asked blankly as she shifted her position to better face me.

"Sure, go for it." I responded nonchalantly as I kept playing with Aiva's 'hair'.

"My unit number is 005, and I have so graciously been gifted the name Athena by my Darling sparkmate as of solar date 851… as told before I am the twin sparksister of 002 or Aiva and as such I possess the same ability classes and chassis specifications as her. Put it simply I am exactly the same height and weight as her, with my systems being capable of performing any and all abilities that she can. The only main differences between the two us, are our preferences and our sparks. Unlike my twin who has a bright red spark containing the majority of the emotions like rage, passion, lust and other joyous parts of what used to be 007's spark. I possess a bright arctic blue spark, which within it contains the remainder of what would have been 007's emotions." Athena admitted as she began wrapping her single ponytail like tentacle antenna around my back and shoulders.

"Also another major difference between between the two of us, is how we fight and what our combat preferences are. Regardless of the fact that both of our classes can produce the same abilities, we tend to differ when it comes to how we use our abilities. My sister likes to use large, and showy weaponry such as plasma buzz blades (energy chainsaw) and large energy rotary guns/cannons that have an extreme rate of fire along with a large area of lethality. Contrarily I tend to gravitate more towards high precision and focused weaponry, like laser rifles, nano blades, and other such precision weapons." Athena explained as the rest of my team was eagerly taking down notes from behind us.

"So what do you think Darling? Has this helped you trust us more?" Athena asked as she leaned ever so slightly more on to me.

"To be honest with you guys… I'm not too sure. Although you telling me all about yourselves has furthered my understanding about how you two work, and think… this still all seems overwhelming…" I explained as I stood up from the couch, leaving Emmi's small body now seated between the two very large femmes.

"Where Zaza going?" Emmi innocently asked as she leaned forward off the couches backing.

"I just need to think… this is all insanely sudden and truthfully I'm pretty sure that I'm going to have a mental breakdown at any moment now." I said as I began pacing back and forth behind the couch.

"Darling, our intentions were not to cause you distress or anguish… please, tell us now relieve you of these emotions." Athena suggested as both she and Aiva stood up and began walking around the couch to comfort me.

"No… stay back…" I said as I took a step back.

"Darling, it's just us…"

"I said stay back, I don't know you… and despite what you keep telling yourselves, or how sweet you act towards me doesn't change the fact that you know jack shit about me… and my name isn't fucking 'Darling'... so stop calling me that." I angrily spat as both of them stopped dead in there tracks.

"Why in all holy hell did I ever agree to come and do this..." I mumbled as I gripped the sides of my head with open palms. "Emmi was barely on the line, at least we had to earn each other's trust… then these two come along and act as if we've been long lost soulmates for millions of years."

"Darling please calm down…" Aiva gently asked.

"Darling… Darling… darling… what is it with you calling me that? You think a simple pet name is going to cause me to trust you more? It's not… for all I know your going to skin we alive, or eat my body while I'm sleeping just because 'I trusted you.'"

"Darli- Zack you have it all wrong… we have no intention of tricking you or causing you harm… and I know you don't trust us now, but give us a chance and we'll show you that our actions are not a ploy for some ulterior motive…" Athena spoke soothingly as she took a careful step forward.

"All we need is a little time, and I promise that we won't disappoint you…" Aiva said as she reached her antennas back behind her and gracefully picked Emmi up from the couch, and set her on the ground in front of me.

"Zaza pwease give Emmi's sparksisters a chance… let them stay with Zaza..." She sweetly asked as she walked up and wrapped her arms and tail around my legs, all while looking up and innocently begging for me to do so.

"FINE… fine… I'll give them a chance…" I told Emmi as I knelt down and warmly cupped both of her smooth polymer cheeks in my hands. "I guess I overreacted, I've gone my whole life knowing that nothing good happens unless someone gets something out of it… so when I saw you two coming at me like mad dogs looking to win my affection I became kinda suspicious." I admitted as I placed Emmi on my back and stood back up.

"Sorry you two… the way I reacted wasn't cool of me. I'll give you both a fair chance, then after that decide what's next… sound good?" I said as Aiva began walking towards me.

"Oh yes! That sounds absolutely wonderful Darling!... I won't let you down, I promise!" Aiva excitedly exclaimed as she grabbed my head and upper body, and buried them deeply within her large bosom. A surprised sounding squeak coming from Emmi as she was caught up in this unexpected embrace.

"Remember sister, take it slow with him… we both know that currently our Darling is feeling overwhelmed and frightened… don't ruin what little trust we have by doing something brash." Athena quietly whispered into Aiva's audio sensors as she laid a hand on her shoulder.

"Right…" Aiva agreed as she slowly let go and took a step back.

"Is it just me, or is anyone else feeling very self conscious right now?" Jonas asked the group was still silently watching this unfold.

"Yeah… for whatever reason I am too." Veronica agreed as she remained leaning on Robbie.

"Same here… I feel like I'm imposing on someone having sex…" Robbie responded as everyone slowly turned and looked at him. "What?" He responded after he caught all of our confused stares.

"Hmm, look at that… it seems that it's around dinner time, we should start cooking." Veronica spoke as she grabbed Robbie and rapidly pulled him into the kitchen, along with Ana and Jonas who quickly followed suite.

"Do you guys want me to help?" I called out as the group had disappeared behind the closed door.

"No were fine, you stay there and make sure our… guests… are entertained." Robbie answered back as the usual clicking and banging of the kitchen started resonating from the closed door.

Rolling my eyes at Robbie's answer I brought my attention back to Aiva and Athena, who at this point were standing there silently with there optics refusing to make direct eye contact.

"Girls listen… I don't want you to act like something your not, be yourselves and show me that I can trust you…" I said as I walked over to the couch once again and motioned for them to come and join me.

"Thank you Darling… I mean Zack……" Aiva solemnly spoke as she walked over just after I had sat down on the couch, and pinned Emmi up against the squishy couch backing, who giggled happily in response.

"You can call me 'Darling' if you want… Emmi calls me what she wants so it's only fair if I let you two do the same. Plus you guys seem sincere when you call me that… just remember that my name isn't Darling, that'll just get embarrassing if your ever end up filling out a document in my name." I corrected as both Aiva and Athena simultaneously sat down next to me.

With all three of us (plus a squished Emmi) seated on the couch the air around us soon fell into an awkward silence, with Aiva and Athena both wanting to say things on multiple incidents but instead they kept quiet, and if I asked what's on there mind they would simply denying it and continue sitting in silence.

"Well this is awkward… hey, how about we play 2 truths, 1 lie?" I asked as I looked at both of them simultaneously.

"That sounds like fun Darling!" Aiva exclaimed just before Athena added a "Such a game will be a good ice breaker while we wait for your food to be prepared Darling."

"Emmi want to play!" Emmi called out from behind me as she lifted her head above my shoulder.

"Okay, the rules are simple… one of us tells 2 truths, and 1 lie… but the thing is that we don't tell which is the lie, so the goal is for the others to figure out what it is…" I explained as Aiva and Athena nodded or starred in acknowledgement while Emmi began tapping my cheek lightly with her tongue.

"Zaza… Emmi no understanding…" She quietly admitted as she gripped me even tighter with her arms and tail.

"Here, I'll go first… as an example." I answered as I rubbed Emmi's clawed hand which was wrapped around the middle of my bicep.

"I have green eyes, I have brown hair, and I am a girl… which is the lie?" I asked as almost immediately after asking the question, Aiva shot her arm up, and opened her mouth ready to answer. But was silenced when Athena motioned towards Emmi who was deep in thought.

"Ah! Emmi knows that Zaza is not a girl!" She finally answered as the three of us let out a mental sigh of relief.

"Yay you got it Emmi!... so do you think you would like to try going next?" I softly spoke as Emmi began retreating behind me.

"Noo… Emmi no want to make fool, in front of sparksisters…" She said as she retreated so that only the very top of her head was visible from over my shoulder.

"Darling I could go next!... well only if you want me to of course…" Aiva suggested as she passionately looked deep into my eyes.

"Go for it… just make sure there easy." I responded as I made a quick glance behind me to see Emmi slowly creeping her head back into view.

"Of course Darling! Ok let's see… I like fire, my twin is Athena, and my optics are purple… which one is the lie?" She asked as I put my hand to my chin and thought for a few seconds.

"Yeah I'm stumped…" I spoke as Athena seemed to jump and hit the ceiling.

"Darling surely you know the answ-" She began questioning but was put to silence with a quick squeeze of her armoured hand a subtle wink.

"Emmi, do you think you want to give it a try?" I asked as she was still hiding behind my shoulder.

"No…" She admitted quietly as she slowly lowered her head behind my shoulder once again. "Emmi no know… answer…"

"Emmi, look at Aiva's optics… do they look purple?" I asked as I gestured towards Aiva's curious faceplate.

"Silly Zaza, Aaaiva's optics are red, not purple!" Emmi giggled as she looked at me funny.

"See, you got it eventually… good job Emmi." I praised as she started squirming, indicating that she wanted to leave, but was to embarrassed to ask for anything to be done about it.

"Zaza, can Emmi… colouring now?" She asked politely as she stood between my legs, and had a gentle supporting hand placed on the top of my kneecap.

"Since you asked so nicely, yes of course you can." I said as Emmi smiled joyfully at me, then speedily skipped off towards our room to grab her colouring book and crayons.

Her small, white, body becoming obstructed by the door as she ran behind it, only to re-emerge seconds later with her hands full multiple colouring books, and the tip of her tail firmly holding her package of crayons.

"You treat her well… mother was worried because out of all her daughters, 004 or Emmi was always the most emotionally susceptible and vulnerable… I am glad she formed the sparkbond with you, and not some other abusive human." Athena spoke as she watched Emmi excitedly sit down next to the low coffee table and begin to colour all while she quietly hummed a tune from a tv show she liked.

"I try my best…" I answered as all three of us watched her colour vigorously, if not slightly messy.

"So… what do you two want to do now?" I asked as Aiva's faceplate lit up, and her lava red optics shone brighter than ever before.

"We could go flying, it'll be my first time actually having someone inside me while I do so!" Aiva excitedly said as her twin was quick to shoot her down.

"Your not doing that, even if your systems were calibrated for such a task, it would take to long… unless Zack wishes to do so, we will wait for another time." Athena explained as Aiva zoned out, looked at me and made the crazy motion with her finger as she smiled at me.

"I AM NOT! Take it back you malfunctioning glitch." Athena angrily spat as her tone continued to remain like previous.

"Sister, how dare you call me such names in front of our Darling… Darling are you going to stand for this and let her call me such mean things?" Aiva asked in a fake hurt voice as she grabbed a hold of me hugged me closely like a scared child.

"Uhhh… Fine, Athena stop swearing, or calling your sister names, and Aiva stop pushing her buttons." I said as both femmes shrunk back into their seat, and stopped bickering.

"Yes Darling…" Both automatons muttered as they each remained silent.

"Anyway, I'm going to go check on dinner, you two wait here in the meantime." I announced as I stood up and walked away from the media area and towards the kitchen.

"That dinner person better behave herself and keep her hands off my Darling or else I'll kill her." I heard Aiva mutter to herself as she looked at the kitchen door with displeasure and jealousy.

"You do realize that 'dinner' is what the meal that humans have near dusk is called… it's not a person, let alone a romantic rival against us." Athena explained as I heard Aiva let out a sigh of relief.

"That's good, I thought for a second that I would have to kill her, thus messing and dirtying up Darlings home." Aiva followed up as both couch bound femmes turned and were now closely observing my every movement.

 **RING, RING, RING**

A phone sounded as all three automatons jumped up to attention into an alert stance, where each of them had there optics glowing very brightly, and they were ready to attack at a moments notice.

 **RING, RING, RING**

The phone continued as I began padding my pockets for the device, after a few seconds I successfully found it and pulled it from my cargo pants pocket.

 **RING, RING, RING**

"Darling drop the device and let me destroy it… For it could potentially be a bomb or some other form of harmful device… I can't watch you get killed this early upon finding you." She spoke as she reached towards my phone, but didn't snatch it away for whatever reason even though she had clear access to it.

 **RING, RING, RING**

"Guys, relax… I'm just getting a phone call from… my mother… it's nothing to be worried about as it's perfectly safe. But I do know that I don't take this call then my mother will kill me." I explained as Athena and Emmi returned to sitting peacefully and doing what they were doing before, however Aiva adamantly stood there in shock.

"I will kill this mother before she has any chance to harm you." She confidently spoke as she kept her posture fixed.

"Relax, it's just an expression… my mother would never actually kill me… so just tone down the aggression a couple notches… There's nothing to worry about, I'm not in any danger…" I said as I walked past Aiva back over to the couch.

"Just remember you three, don't talk unless I okay it… I have a sneaking suspicion that she's calling to make sure I'm alright after you two attacked the election site… I don't want her to worry more than she already is, so just keep quiet unless I say so… got it?" I asked as I looked at all three of the girls.

They all nodded 'yes' in unison.

"Great!" I said as I pressed the big red button on my phones display and answered the call.

"Hey mom, how's it going?…" I greeted as I stretched my arm forward, so that the Skype call was properly angled, along with me putting the phone on loud speaker for the girls to hear.

"Oh it's so good to see that your safe hun, after what I saw today on the news I feared the worst, being that you have a tendency to get mixed up in crazy dangerous things like these." My mother responded as her tanned face with 8 glowing red eyes came on screen.

"Well… as you can see I'm safe and sound." I responded as naturally as possible as mother looked skeptically through the screen at me.

"I see… well whatever is going on, I want you to stay far away from those murder machines, no matter how much they may try to seduce you, you saw what they did to that Minotaur and Centaur at the election sight? Right?... And they were Demi's, think about what would happen if they decide to hurt you… just stay far away from them… please." She desperately spoke as all 8 of her eyes burrowed into a worried expression. In the background I spotted the living room where my little lamia baby sister was playing with Coral.

"Well this might come as quite the shock to you… but you know that 'sparkmate' guy that those two robot chicks were looking for?" I asked as I saw that out of the corner of my eye Aiva, Athena, and Emmi were watching intently but silently to our conversation.

"Vaguely… I know that, that's what those two were aggressively searching for… WAIT, are you telling me that you know him? Is it one of your friends have those two female death machines after him?... Regardless, as your loving mother I am telling you not to spend any more time with whoever it is." Charlotte ordered as she looked at me with disapproval and mind annoyance.

"Alright… uh… change of plans… Hey mom what do you think of surprises?" I nervously yet optimistically asked as she looked at me with 4 four of her eyes raised.

"Change of plans? Surprise?... I don't like where this is going. Zackary tell me what's going on, and don't make me get your father." She spoke disapprovingly as her 8 eyes seemingly began to glow even brighter.

"What I mean by a surprise is… uh… THIS!" I spoke as I stood up, being careful not to get either of the two femmes in the frame, and walked over to Emmi. After scooping her up, I sat down on a stand alone chair with Emmi firmly seated on my leg facing the camera.

"Mom, this is the surprise I wanted to show you… this is Emmi and as of right now she kind of like my… companion… Emmi say hello to Charlotte." I spoke as my mother squinted all 8 of her eyes as she analyzed Emmi.

"Hewwo… Char…lette..." Emmi cutely spoke as attempted to hide from my mother's gaze behind me.

"What is she?..." my mom curiously asked as she brought her face closer to the screen to better study Emmi.

"She's an Automaton… she came from space and now she lives with me…" I answered like it was no big deal.

"So your telling me that Emmi here, is the same as those other robots that invaded Earth?" She furiously asked as Emmi quickly brought her clawed hands up, so as to hide her face from the screen.

"Yes… Emmi is the same species as the other two automatons that attacked the election site." I answered slowly as I knew that I pretty much just armed a bomb.

"I want you to get rid of her, no… I want you to get rid of that thing immediately… I don't want anything that dangerous around my delicate baby." She loudly ordered as Emmi moved her palms and digits so they were tightly wrapped around her optics and audio sensors.

"Mom… relax, I've been with Emmi for about a week now and I can say that she is truly harmless… a complete sweetheart. And in fact even though she is indestructible, and incredibly powerful, she still gets scared by even the slightest things… Sorry mom but no matter what you tell me, I'm keeping Emmi by my side. She just too sensitive to be in the world alone where anyone could have her way with her……. Also I'm kind of married to her now so… there's no turning back now." I spoke as my mother looked at me in shock.

"WHAT? your married to that death machine? Although she is incredibly cute I cannot excuse the fact that she could kill you." She spoke as Emmi kept jumping and twitching to every loud word that my mother said.

"I'm not technically married to her… I just permanently bonded to her now, and that could mean that I'm married to her." I said as I finally stood up with Emmi under my arm and put her terrified chassis back down by her colouring books.

Sitting back down on the couch, between Aiva and Athena, I resumed my conversation with Charlotte.

"So, young man… is there any other, surprises that you wish to show me now?" She asked with slight disappointment as she briefly bent down out of frame, to whisper something to presumably Aiko, my harpy sister.

"Uh… Yeah, while we're on the topic… you know how earlier I asked if you knew about that 'sparkmate guy', well… I'm that sparkmate guy. And here's the two that invaded the election site…" I said as I turned the camera to face Athena who respectably only stared at the phone in her usual icy manner. Then I tilted the phone towards Aiva who quickly decided that it would be a good idea to grab my upper torso and pull me into a great big hug, where she tightly wrapped her arms and tentacle antennas around me.

"Hi Darlings mom!" She spoke with a smirk as she stared menacingly towards the camera, and my mother's bewildered and shocked face.

"Zackary… explain right now." She demanded as I attempted to shake myself free from Aiva's hug, but with no avail.

"So… when I got married to Emmi, I actually got sparkbonded with her, and because of that bond these two came to looking for me." I explained as my mother looked upon Aiva with disapproval. Aiva in response mockingly stuck her tongue out and hugged me tighter. Causing her large Energon tanks or breasts, to press ever firmer against my back, shoulders, and head.

"You let my baby go this instant you murdering robot." Charlotte demanded as Aiva leaned forward and gently grabbed the phone out of my hand, using the aid from one of her tentacle antennas.

"Hmm…I don't think so… Darlings adorable body rightfully belongs with me, and me alone. But if you want him back, then you'll have to come over her, and pry him out of my cold, functionless, chassis." Aiva seared as she both she and my mother intensely staring at each other.

"Okay… enough about that." I said as I finally managed to wiggle an arm free of Aiva's cage like hug to retrieve the device from the tip of her antennae.

"Mom, there's nothing for you to worry about… All three of them, believe it or not, are chill around me… there not going by to hurt me, so just relax…" I instructed as I saw Coral, my half mermaid sister, stand up from the couch with Natalie in her arms and walk up behind mother.

"I know your not a baby anymore, but I still worry about you… even more because your not as strong as others… I just don't want to see you get hurt, or worse." Mom quivered as she subconsciously shifted the camera so as to better fit my two sisters into the frame. "Plus I would hate for our sweet little Natalie to lose her wonderful big brother."

"Yeah, that would really suck…" I painfully agreed as Charlotte glanced down at Coral and Natalie.

"Anyway… don't let an old spider such as myself get in your way… I trust you enough to know that you wouldn't let those things anywhere near you if they going to hurt you… I just worry… you are still human after all…" Mother worryingly explained as she reached down and carefully picked Natalie up, who desperately had her arms outstretched towards her momma.

"Just be safe… and come and visit us soon, it's been a while. Unless you've suddenly become too cool to hang out with your family." She ended with a smirk as she officially handed the phone to Coral and walked away with all 8 of her legs silently clicking against to carpeted floor.

"So hey sis, how's everything going around there?" I asked to Coral as I moved the camera so that neither of the two automatons where in the frame.

"Eh, nothing much… Aiko finally learned how to fly properly, and now we can't keep her on the ground… Natalie has become especially active and playful ever since the weather warmed up, and I just recently found a whole new underwater village full of mermaids and other aquatic folk. You should swing by and check it out with me, that is if you finally learned how to hold your breath." Coral explained with a smug grin towards the end. Her long fin like ears, and semi scaled face showing nothing but her true beauty.

"For your information I can hold my breath, just not as long as someone who can freakin breathe underwater… but hopefully I'll be coming over soon with some new… tech… and maybe with it I'll finally be able to compete with you." I responded as she appeared to be studying my surroundings thoroughly.

"So, spill it big bro… what were you and mom chatting about before I got a turn to talk?" She asked coyly as she left the living room and began walking down the main hallway, be sure to keep the phones camera angles at her pretty face the entire time.

"I'm not sure how much you already heard, but wha-"

"Yeah I already heard everything… mom isn't exactly the quietest, you can skip the recap. But I do want to see these robot girls that your apparently married to…actually wait, hold on a second… I'm getting Aiko." Coral spoke as she quickly made her way up the stairs with a quick series of light sounding steps.

"Aiko…" She spoke as she knocked on the door. "AIKO OPEN UP." She repeated when she got nothing for an answer.

"Oh for the love of… Aiko kind of recently has taken a liking to rock n roll, played really loud, on noise cancelling headphones… makes it royal pain to get her attention I tell ya." Coral admitted as she grabbed the knob and walked into the room.

"Aiko take these off, I got Zack on the phone… you can listen to your music later." I heard Coral say as she took Aiko's headphones off and promptly sat next to her on her bed.

"Hi big brother!" Aiko excitedly spoke as she rolled over onto her knees, and cutely began waving to the screen with one of her folded green feathered wings.

"Hey Aiko, how's it going? Are you behaving for mom and dad?" I asked slowly remember how young she is.

"I'm being good for them… also, I learned how to fly 3 days ago, want to see?!?" She excitedly asked as she bounced up on her bed.

"Not now, not on this tiny little screen… when I come up there soon, I'll definitely want to see you fly!" I spoke as Coral motioned for her to sit back down.

"Anyway, So Aiko… Zack has something or someone he wants to show us… remember that big thing that happened this morning, where mom and dad were really worried?" Coral patiently asked her younger sister.

"Uh… yes! I remember mommy said something about two robot girls…" She answered confidently, with a big smile.

"Yup, these were the two robot girls that stormed the SEED election centre to find out where your big brother was." Coral explained as I leaned forward so as to get both Aiva and Athena in frame.

"Whoa… THAT'S SO COOL! Does big brother get to keep them?" Aiko asked with big eyes as she looked at Coral expecting an answer.

"I think so… I'm not to sure…" Coral responded as she looked at me to continue.

"Aiko, this is Aiva and Athena… there big robot girls from outer space… and yes they will be staying with me for as long as I want." I explained simply as I gestured to each of them when I said their respective names. Luckily neither of the girls raised any objections to my oversimplification of the situation, and there only respond was with a slight raise of there helms optic ridge (eyebrows).

"And this is Emmi, she's a robot just like the others, but she's a lot smaller and has a tail." I further added as I flipped the camera to point at Emmi. Aiko leaned forward and made an 'o' with her mouth as she watched in utter fascination.

"That is actually pretty cool…" Coral murmured as she watched through the screen.

"There so BIG!" Aiko exclaimed as she tossed both her wings into the air.

"Yeah, they are pretty big… exactly 7 feet tall if I remember. Hey that's just an inch or two taller than you Coral." I spoke as Coral scowled at me.

"It doesn't matter if you've found yourself some new toys, I will always be taller than you big bro." Coral gritted back.

"Anyway, sorry about interrupting your music Aiko… but we have to get going… Zack will be coming to visit us soon so you'll get to see those three robots in person." Coral announced as Aiko began excitedly waving goodbye with the full length of her bright green feathered wing. Eventually she got tired, stopped her hyperactive waving, promptly dawned her headphones once again, and threw herself back on to her bed.

"Aiko seemed well." I spoke as Coral stood in the hallway and softly closed the door in case Natalie was sleeping. A habit almost everyone in the household adopted ever since Natalie was a newborn.

"Yeah she is… truth is we all are, despite how we act or what we say. Right now things are finally working out for us. We've for the most part gotten used to our new demi bodies and as such life has somewhat returned to normal. Even Dad, who is out working right now, has found a higher paying, more labour intensive job that will hopefully help keep his insane canine energy contained and under control." She spoke as she rapidly made her way back down the stairs.

"That's good, what about you? Have you found work yet?" I asked as I saw through the camera that my sister had now re-entered the living room where my arachnid mother was holding Natalie on top of her chitin covered mandibles.

"I just started working as a lifeguard and coach down at the local pool or beach if needed… and hopefully soon I'll be teaching lifeguarding and first aid to a group of newly transformed merfolk." She answered as she sat down on the thin cushioned bench that was especially made for 8 legged arachnids to sit on comfortably.

"Enjoy the house tour?" Charlotte asked as Natalie redirected her attention from the bright coloured toy ball in her hands to the phone that Coral was holding.

"Mummy… look…" Natalie muttered as she tightened her tails grip on my mothers torso and stretched her body forward in reach of the camera.

"Yes honey, that's your great big brother saying hello from across the world…" Mother said with a smile as she half supported Natalie's weight.

"When he come?" Natalie innocently asked as she looked back at my mother with a hopeful smile.

"hopefully soon dear… hopefully soon…"

"Anyway… we're gonna let you go now, I'm guessing you'll be quite busy now that you have the task of living with those three… well send your greetings and whatnot to dad when he gets home... byeee!" Coral concluded with a small wave, as mother was gently waving while lightly holding onto Natalie's limp wrist. Then the picture froze, and the call had officially disconnected and ended.

"Well sorry about that impromptu tour of my family and there house… not exactly how I wanted the first day to happen, but oh well…" I admitted as I locked the phone and slid it back onto the table.

"Nonsense Darling, the fact that you so openly shared us with your family members means that you are beginning to feel for comfortable amongst our presence… this trust is good, and is something that I'm hoping will continue to grow." Athena happily if not coldly spoke as she passionately looked over at me with nothing but affection in her icy blue optics.

"Oh well… it kinda seems that there all in need of a visit. At least my sisters seemed excited to meet you, I'll definitely be bringing you three along with me the next time I go up there." I spoke as Emmi stopped her rigorous drawing to now stand cutely and expectantly between my legs.

"Hopefully your parents and family find favour in us staying with you…" Athena spoke as the noise from the kitchen became increasingly louder.

"Even if they don't, it's not like they could keep us from you…" Aiva added with a sultry smile as Athena glanced over at her and shook her helm disapprovingly.

"Hey Zack, dinners ready… mind helping us set up?" Robbie called from the slightly opened kitchen door.

"Uh… yeah sure… you three hold tight, and try not to annoy or pick on each other." I said as I stood up over Emmi and walked briskly to the kitchen.

After entering the closed doors I was met with a wonderful arrangement of different foods and dishes along with the team waiting patiently for my arrival.

"Hey, sorry I didn't help out earlier… I was busy with Ai-" I began but was silenced by a quick and confused shake of Veronica's head.

"What? No… your job was to keep our two new guests entertained and busy while we made dinner that's it. Don't feel bad for not doing something you weren't supposed to do…… now we're just confused on if these two new automatons eat anything and if so what? I know Emmi eats everything and anything and rarely complains, but since you said that these two were completely different from Emmi we were kinda left thrown for a loop, and so… we kinda just made everything…" Veronica explained as she motioned down the hall of the very large military grade kitchen that had enough fridge capacity to feed a small army.

"Yeah I'm not to sure… I can go ask if you like?" I spoke as I grabbed the cutlery and table mats.

"Yes please, then we'll know what to use and what to store." Veronica said as I turned and walked out.

Upon leaving the deceptively large kitchen and going over toward the table, where I began setting out usual placements. I turned after feeling the penetrating stares of all three automatons.

"Hey you two wouldn't happen to eat human food, would you?... it doesn't matter cause we have enough to feed all of us, but we just need to know how much to bring out." I spoke as Athena brought a slender armoured hand to her chin, and Aiva leaned forward and smiled warmly towards me.

"Thank you for the offer Darling, but our systems do not require the inclusion of organic food to function… you enjoy your meal." Athena analytically answered as Aiva looked over with a scowl at her.

"Although what my sister is saying is true… I would love to try some of your human food Darling, but only if there's is more than enough for you." Aiva humbly admitted as Emmi bounced up and skipped over to the table, her long polymer tail dragging and scrapping lightly against the concrete all the while.

"Well there's more than enough for both of you… so your both free to join us." I said as I walked back over to the kitchen.

"I think we should just bring all of it out… Aiva said she wants to try, but for Athena I don't think she likes the idea of eating human food." I answered as we all began grabbing the plates one by one and walking out one by one.

"It looks different than I imagined it would…" Aiva said as she walked up to the table and curiously picked up the fork and inspected it closely.

"That's not the food, but if you want to eat go ahead… that's usually what Emmi does." Ana answered as Aiva put the fork back down and looked at me expectantly.

"Darling, Is this tiny human female telling the truth? Is this really not your food?" She asked as I continued setting the food out.

"Yes of course she's telling the truth, Ana and the rest of my team wouldn't lie to you, so you can trust what they say." I spoke as my 4 team mates continued doing there thing without stopping or making eye contact.

"Yes, of course Darling as you wish." Aiva humbly replied as she bowed her head, and held her arms and antennas respectfully at her sides. Fork still in hand.

"But that being said, that fork is not our food. It's just a utensil used by us humans to pick up and eat our food… It's not edible to use cause it's made of metal, but Emmi has been known to eat them, so you can eat it if you like…" I explained as Aiva interestedly looked at the fork, then promptly she effortlessly crunched and squished the metal utensil, with only three fingers, until it was down to the size a small ball of metal roughly that if a marble.

"Anyway let's eat guys, I'm absolutely starving." I spoke up as I took a seat on the bench right next to Emmi, while the team sat down on the adjacent bench across the table.

"Yeah I feel you man, skipping lunch was not one our wisest decisions." Robbie added as we all began loading out plates up with mashed potatoes, roast beef, and fresh baked bread.

"Darling, did you really 'skip lunch' as your male teammate put it?... Not consuming your food at their predetermined meal time intervals can lead to malnourishment and eventual physical damage to body, which is something we cannot allow for you." Athena lectured as she and her sister stood obediently at the end of the table, positioned in between our two padded benches.

"Well I would have loved to sit down and had lunch, but we were all little preoccupied with having to deal with a certain pair automatons who decided to invade the SEED election site and stir up mass, worldwide panic." I responded as the pair of standing automatons both looked down in shame, and locked there positions.

"Not even a full day that we've been on Earth and we already caused harm to befall our Darling." Aiva silently muttered to her sister as they remained

staring at the floor.

"Affirmative, we have failed in our duties of protecting our Darling from harm and instead we have become the cause of his pain… were failures." Athena deadpanned as she and her sister stood dejectedly.

"Why do I suddenly feel bad for them?..." Ana asked as mindlessly picked at her food while she watched the pair of femmes.

"Look girls… me not eating wasn't your fault. It was just something that I chose not to do…" I spoke to them as guilt filled my mind from watching them cower at the end of the table. "So I don't want either of you blaming yourselves for something that wasn't your fault. I alone chose not to eat, and if I become a little extra hungry, then so be it… Understand?"

"Yes Darling, I understand." Athena said as she and her sister straightened her posture back up to her natural 7 ft stance.

"Seriously though, It never ceases to amaze me on how sensitive you X-01 Automatons are... despite what I know about how powerful your species really is, you three still react in very emotional ways." I spoke as I continued feeding Emmi's eager mouth bits of steak and potatoes, while occasionally taking a bite for myself.

Looking back up at the units I saw that they were once again shamefully looking down. All while the sharp feelings of shame, and fear emanating through the bond.

"You know what, just forget I ever said anything… it's nothing that either of you need to feel concerned or ashamed about, I'll still like you regardless." I spoke as Aiva happily looked up with a bright beaming smile. And Athena returned to her usual neutral expression as she watched the group of us eat.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you Darling! It warms my spark hearing you say such nice things about us." Aiva happily exclaimed as she lunges forward, and hugged me vigorously while I sat next to Emmi on the bench.

"Yeah, sure… no problem." I managed to cough out as my body was put in lock between Aiva's large Energon tanks and the smooth texture of her neck and cheeks.

"I too wish to thank you Darling… I understand that at times we may a nuisance towards you, but regardless I am overjoyed with the generosity and understanding shown towards us." Athena monotoned with almost zero emotion present in her tone, voice, posture, and faceplate… kinda eerie…

"Let's just move on… how about you two sit down, relax and have a bite to eat while we all… unwind from this long and eventful day." I spoke as Aiva happily plopped down onto the bench beside me, while Athena simply remained standing, but albeit slightly more behind me this time.

Fast forward 10 minutes of (slightly) awkward, ghostly silently eating and we all where almost halfway done the food currently on our plates. I had been flip flopping between feeding Emmi, myself, and Aiva (Who for some reason absolutely efused to eat by her own will and actions).

"This human food is quite tasty Darling, I can see why you like it so much." Aiva joyfully spoke up over the silence as she leaned over and pulled me into a hug that ended with my upper body and head being directly pushed between Aiva's large breast like Energon tanks.

"Thanks… I guess?" I answered as I looked around the table to see the team on the opposing bench, head down and eating silently. All while Emmi was slowly and hesitantly reaching her way towards my plate in search of a piece of fresh baked bread.

"Hey Emmi…" I suddenly spoke up as my body was still pressed against Aiva's voluptuous breasts as she continued to tightly hug me. Immediately after hearing the sound of my voice, Emmi dropped her partially bitten bun back onto her plate, and snapped her attention towards me all while looking startled and scared.

"Geez relax Emmi... I just was going to tell you that your bun would taste much better with some butter on it." I spoke as I leaned forward out of Aiva's clutches and promptly began spreading a small piece of butter across the freshly bitten section.

"Oooh…" Emmi hummed with her mouth slightly agape as she stared longingly at the piece of bread.

"Here try it now." I spoke as I handed the bun back into her eager clawed hands.

"Mmmm…" Emmi squealed with delight as she took a bite of the bun with closed optics.

"Ooh! I want to try one too Darling!" Aiva announced as she leaned against me and looked at me expectantly.

"Alright, just give me a second." I spoke as I grabbed a second bun from off the center plate, tore it in half, and began buttering the freshly opened spots.

After pressing the 2 halves back together, I attempted to hand it Aiva. But instead of grabbing the piece of bun that was presented to her, she leaned forward with a slightly open mouth, while whispering. "I want you to feed it to me Darling…" Not being sure how to react to that, I cautiously positioned the bun in front of her faceplate, allowing her to take a big bite out of the relatively small piece.

"Darling, although it is awfully sweet of you to hand feed my sister like that, I suggest that in the future you don't succumb to every wish and desire we ask of you… it will end up leading to us developing some rather… undesirable tendencies, and habits." Athena explained as she remained standing there with her usual stoic persona.

"I'll keep that in mind." I spoke as Aiva smiled in defeat and took the bun from out of my hand.

"Anyway, you want one?" I asked as I glanced over at Athena.

"No thank you Darling, as stated before my systems do not require the intrusion of human food to function… that and… I simply do not wish to gum up my internals… please don't take that the wrong way Darling, your generosity kindness is more than acceptable… it just that I…" Athena stuttered as her cold facade began to waiver slightly.

"Hey it's not problem… I won't take offence to you declining. At least I can say your polite about it." I spoke as I turned back to the table to resume eating.

"Thank you for understanding." She happily, yet coldly, purred as she pulled my back against her lower torso, in a weird attempt at a standing hug.

"Anyway… so how are you guys taking these new additions to our group?" I asked as the team finally looked up from there plates, and or phones.

"It's a little weird… one minute there terrorizing all who were present at the SEED election centre, and now the next there here, eating dinner with us…" Robbie spoke as he maintained firm eye contact with only me.

"You have no need to worry about us, for we will primarily be assisting/aiding in Zack's everyday life… unless further specified by him." Athena explained as she obediently stood behind me.

"That's right, but I don't want any of you feeling scared around our two new alien additions… I want you to come and tell me if either of them are misbehaving or aren't cooperating." I spoke as all four of my team members nodded there head in acknowledgment.

"And that goes for you two as well, you will be expected to behave yourselves and be polite whether with me, the others in the team, my family, or any other person that you encounter… of course exceptions apply to every scenario, but if you knowingly disobey my rules there will be consequences." I spoke as both Aiva and Athena nodded in agreement.

"Alright, now that that's out of the way you guys are free to ask questions if you so wish too." I spoke towards the team as Ana looked as if she wanted explode with excitement.

"Yes I have a question!... why do both Aiva and Athena have such large breasts? I get that there twins and such would have similar bodies, but why doesn't Emmi have such… large boobs?" Ana asked as the rest of the team looked down in shame from Ana's complete disregard for tactfulness.

"The reason my chassis has such large 'breasts' as you called them is because as previously stated, our chassis are hollow. Meaning that our Energon tanks are mostly external, allowing us to fit a person inside our chassis all while retaining the same capability of Energon storage as Emmi or any other unit." Athena clearly answered.

"So your saying that, Emmi has the same amount of this Energon stuff that you do, but it doesn't show as much through her Energon tanks because there mostly inside her." Ana asked in clarification.

"That is correct, however Emmi's chassis contains less overall storage due to her being much smaller in size, and less Energon demanding when it comes to her weapons and combat systems." Athena spoke.

"I just realized there naked, fuck me I'm never going to unsee that…" Jonas muttered under his breath as he looked down at his plate. Causing myself and the rest of the team to turn and look at both Aiva and Athena's exposed chassis, and saw immediately what Jonas was talking about.

Emmi's apparent 'nudity' was ignorable as her small chassis didn't draw attention much attention to her features, as her chest wasn't overly large, and her low profile, skin level, armour panels fully covered all of her places of interest. But when it came to Aiva or Athena who shamelessly had there large, voluptuous, breasts like Energon tanks out for the whole world to see. Leaving nothing to the imagination, it became clear that these two new automatons were gonna have to find a way to cover up there chassis for the decency, and sanity of everyone around regardless if there actual parts were covered by the same panels as Emmi.

"Oh yeah, I could see that… I guess we're going to have to figure out a way to cover you two up a bit." I spoke as both automatons looked down at their cleavage.

"Aww, do you not like admiring my chassis and Energon tanks Darling?" Aiva teased with a wicked smile as she squished both of her tanks together with her hands, and pushed her chest towards me.

With a subtle toll of my eyes I turned to face Athena. "Darling, we are able to form a set of light armour over our protoform, then it will appear that we are clothed with a skin tight latex suit… or we can form full battle armour over our frames, but those are rather larger and bulky for day to day life." She suggested as she stood there like a soldier at attention.

"Sure we can try that, at least then your chest's will be slightly contained from any peering eyes." I spoke as Athena's polymer skin began to shimmer and morph until a new layer of armour graciously formed over her exposed tanks, hiding them from view underneath her newly formed 'light armour'.

"Wow… I did not know you guys could do that!" I exclaimed as I gazed at Athena's new 'skin suit' look.

"It is one of the many abilities we automatons possess, we can switch between any of our three armour configurations at." Athena said with a small smile etched across her faceplate as she looked warmly at me with her cold icy blue optics.

"And those three configurations are what exactly?" I heard Veronica ask as she sat curiously across the table.

"The first and most basic of our armour options is our protoform configuration, it very closely resembles humans in there naked form as the protoform only consists of our polymer skin. The second configuration is our light armour. It's thin, flexible, and covers over our protoform giving our chassis a leotard look. Our light armour can also be customized so as to look like certain Earth fashions, but because we have no other light armour appearance options in our memory banks, we are forced to resort to its basic appearance. And finally there is our heavy armour, or our battle armour. It's large, bulky, and truthfully is not very stylish or practical for day to day life… it's only functionality is to make our chassis look larger and more intimidating because regardless of our choice of armour our overall chassis durability, does not change making cosmetics the only factor between modes." Athena explained as she laid a cautious hand on my shoulder, presumably ready to move it at a moments notice if she detected that I didn't want it there.

"That's good to know, I guess someday we'll have to go shopping so as to get you two some new outfit designs for your light armour." I replied as I fed Emmi the last bite on our plate.

"That won't be necessary Darling, it is not required for our unit functionality." Athena explained as I turned my body to better face the twins.

"Plus, who needs fancy armour designs when our natural protoform is all we need to please you Darling." Aiva swooned as my attention was brought back towards her 'naked' frame.

"Don't expect anything like that from me Darling, I like it when you admire my chassis… and that's one thing I absolutely don't want that to change." Aiva explained with a slight frown as she crossed her arms underneath her large Energon tanks in protest.

"I guess your shameless exposure is one of the things that can't actually harm anyone… I'm not supporting it, but for the time being I'll let it slide." I spoke as I glanced at the table, and noticed that we had all finished our dinner.

After Emmi and I thanked our team for the dinner. The 4 of us humans all stood up and began collecting our plates and dinnerware. Even Emmi tried helping as she grabbed a fork and knife and skipped over to the kitchen. Once clean up was done, some 20 minutes later, we all rejoined the pair of automatons in the main room to find them admiring the cages interior through the viewing window.

"Darling, how were you able to get an entire forest underground?" Athena asked as she stepped back from the window to face.

"Oh I dunno, I only arrived at this place about a week ago… you do realize this isn't my home, it's just a temporary lab I was called to into study Emmi before I properly met her." I answered as the two stepped forward towards me.

"Interesting… now that I have confirmed that this isn't your place, I can safely relay that this place requires a major visual as well as structural overhaul." Athena spoke as she looked around the places interior.

"Or in other words, this place is a dump!" Aiva exclaimed as she placed her slender, armoured hands on her hips.

"Gee thanks." I responded as I walked over to the rest of the team who had just collapsed onto the arm chairs and couches.

"You guys look beat." I said as I took a seat behind Emmi, who was once again on the floor colouring on the coffee table.

"Who would have thought that cooking for 5 would be so… strenuous." Robbie admitted as he let out a tired sigh.

"Coupled with the stress of an alien invasion and you got yourself some real tired humans." Veronica added as she reached forward with the remote and turned the tv on to Netflix.

"Thanks again for dinner, and your support… I know it feels as if I've stolen the stage, but I really appreciate all your guys help." I graciously spoke as they all nodded in exhaustion.

"You don't seem very tired Darling, is it because your not as weak as your human team is?" Aiva curiously asked as she smirked at them.

"Adrenaline…" I yawned out. "I've pretty much running on adrenaline ever since you two showed up on the news this morning."

"Oh…" both Aiva and Athena shamefully exhaled as they looked down at their feet.

"Eh screw it, I'm going to bed… maybe a bit of sleep will help me sort my mind." I spoke as I stood up and began walking to my room. Emmi promptly hopped up from her colouring book, said goodnight to Veronica and Ana, then quickly skipped over so she was now following close behind me.

"Goodnight you two… see you tomorrow." Veronica called out from the couch as the pair of us entered the room, after grabbing a fresh change of clothes I went to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and take a quick shower. Upon re-emerging from the bathroom I found Emmi patiently lying tummy down on the surface of the bed. Her long tail sprawled lazily throughout the linens and floor.

"Today was one hectic day… I'm glad it's over." I spoke as I sat next Emmi and began petting and stroking her head and silky, long, white hair. Slight digital purring escaped her closed lips as she rested her heavy head on my thigh.

"Did Zaza like Emmi's sparksisters?" She cautiously asked as her tail began slowly curling around my waist and arms.

"I do like them, they seem very devoted and loving… but I'll definitely have to spend a lot more time with them before I trust them you." I answered as Emmi partly rolled over so she was facing me.

"Will Zaza let Emmi's sparksisters sleep with him tonight?" She asked with wide, curious optics as her pink gaze burned into mine.

"I dunno… haven't really thought about. Why? Do you want them to?" I asked as Emmi suddenly sat up, and moved behind me to hang partly over my shoulder.

"Yes!… It would make Emmi and her sparksisters so happy." She happily squealed as she pushed her cheek against mine.

"But only if Zaza wants to." She quickly and quietly added as she slumped her head onto my shoulder, and pouted cutely.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to let them sleep with us… I mean what's the worst that could happen, I brutally get squeezed in half?" I joked as Emmi winced and shuttered at my choice of words.

"Alright, alright… I let em sleep with us, and if things don't go well I'll be sure not to make the same mistake the next night… happy?" I admitted as Emmi perked up and happily pushed her faceplates against my cheek.

"Yes!… It would make Emmi and her sparksisters so happy." She happily squealed as she pushed her cheek against mine.

"But only if Zaza wants to." She quickly and quietly added as she slumped her head onto my shoulder, and pouted cutely.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to let them sleep with us… I mean what's the worst that could happen, I brutally get squeezed in half?" I joked as Emmi winced at my choice of words.

"Alright, alright… I let em sleep with us, and if things don't go well I'll be sure not to make the same mistake the next night… happy?" I admitted as Emmi perked up and happily pushed her faceplates against my cheek.

"Yes!" Emmi happily exclaimed as she hopped off my back when I began standing up.

After walking back over to the door and reopening it I found Robbie and Jonas hauling the massive, mangled remains of the bases metal bulkhead door towards the cages concrete patio.

"I can't believe they destroyed the front door, now what on Earth are we going to use to seal this place up?" Robbie asked Jonas as they heaved it out the open door, and closed, then locked the cages main door.

"Where's Aiva and Athena?" I asked as I looked around the room.

"There over in the corner, they both just kinda turned off after you and Emmi left for your room." Veronica said as she pointed to one of the corners of the main room where both automaton femmes were propped up against the wall, not moving.

"Hey, you both… wake up, you two are going to be sleeping in my room tonight." I spoke as I shook them until tiny cracks formed between there closed optics, letting there bright, vibrant optic colours to bleed onto there faceplate.

"Hi Darling, did you sleep well?" Aiva asked as she booted up, and looked at me with her usual smile.

"No, I haven't slept yet… I just came out here to tell you that you both can sleep with me." I spoke as Aiva's lava red optics went wide, and she lunged forward and hugged me against her large bosom.

"Oh thank you Darling, you won't regret this!" She sang as she swung we left and right.

"I would like to thank you for your generosity Darling." Athena said as she laid an armoured hand on my shoulder.

"Well let's go, cause I am exhausted." I said as we all began walking towards the room.

"Actually, Zack could you come over here for a moment." Robbie hesitantly called out causing the three of us to turn and face him.

"Uh, I know your a little busy right now but we really have to find a way to seal up the hatch or else it's gone drop below freezing in here overnight." He said worryingly as I motioned for the two of them to continue to my room. Aiva obediently followed my direction, but Athena remained at my side.

"Darling, if you wish… my systems are able to synthesize physical objects if sized properly, I could assist you in the recreation of the door we destroyed earlier." Athena volunteered which I nodded to her that it was okay.

After giving her confirmation, she immediately walked over to the cage to retrieve the mangled piece of metal. After leaving and shutting the door, she marched past us and went up the dark concrete steps, until her doorstep echoes indicated that she had reached the top. After a few seconds of absolutely silence, the sound of her footsteps returned and she re-emerged from out of the stairwell.

"Door reconstruction complete." Athena confirmed as she walked behind me and stopped.

"What? You can't be serious?" Robbie blurted out as he turned and ran up the stairs. After testing the door a few times he returned with a look of awe on his face.

"It's like nothing ever happened… how?" He asked Athena who simply continued to stare coldly and uncaringly at him.

"Ok, well we're going to go now… I'll see you guys tomorrow." I spoke up as I grabbed Athena by the hand and pulled her large, powerful chassis towards my room.

Once in my room I found both Aiva and Emmi patiently waiting for me atop the bed. Emmi sat on her stomach, with her head propped up by her arms and her tail hanging lazily over the edge of the bed. Aiva on the other hand, was laying on her side, in a seductive position.

"What of all sparks are you doing? Sister you must not shamelessly flaunt your chassis when in the presence of our Darling sparkmate." Athena began scolding, but a quick squeeze of her hand told her that I had the situation under control… somewhat…

"But yeah, what are you doing exactly?" I asked as both Aiva and Emmi sat up onto their knees. Emmi's movements caused her tail to be pulled of the ground slightly, and Aiva's twin tail antennas were now hanging passively from the sides of her helm, with only the tips of each just barely grazing the soft linens that she was kneeling on.

"Just waiting for you Darling!" Aiva sweetly but maliciously sang as she smiled 'innocently' at me.

Rolling my eyes at her antics I simply gave up, and crawled onto the bed where I was soon met with two automatons latching onto me.

"Are you joining us Athena? There's still plenty of room." I asked as she remained standing near the corner of the room.

"No thank you Darling, that's sweet of you to offer but I would prefer to stand guard as a sentry in case any hostile intruders were to break in… But I would like to thank you regardless for your generous offer, you can rest well know that we won't let anything bad happen to you." She monotoned as she stood at attention in the corner.

"Uh… ok then… could you turn off the lights please?" I asked as she lifted her ponytail antenna, that was hanging around her waist, up towards the light switch, and flipped it off with one smooth motion with the tip of it.

Even with the bright halogen lights turned off, the room was still decently illuminated by the three automatons who were each emitting there own calming glow of colour.

The whole room had a calming, ambient feel to it as Emmi's pink, Aiva's red, and Athena's blue all seemed to blend beautifully together to create a light show that could only be compared to the Northern lights.

"It's pretty…" I quietly spoke up as I saw Athena's optics brighten in response, and Aiva opened hers and looked at me.

"You really think so? Mother always told us that our sparks ambient glow was something of true beauty, something she hoped that we would get to share with our sparkmate when and if we even got one… I'm happy your here to see it." Aiva quietly explained as she hugged my arm even tighter between her large cleavage.

Looking to my right I saw that Emmi was fast asleep against my chest, her aura of pink light was slowly beginning to dim down as her spark calmed down for the night.

Pretty soon Aiva's red aura also began dimming down until it was little more than just a faint glow around the outline of her chassis. As her last bit of functionality left her, she muttered one last "g'night… my… Darling…" before her power down cycle completed and her helm rolled tiredly into the crook of my neck.

Not long after both bed bound automatons had fallen into a deep rest cycle, Athena's ice blue aura began to dim down until it was nothing more faint glow that was barely visible from my distance.

Now that the room was almost completely dark, I closed my eyes and began to get lost in my thoughts… the more I concentrated, the clearer the thoughts and emotions of the three automatons became. Pretty soon I couldn't distinguish what were my feelings and what were theirs and it was at this point where my mind filled with ease, contentment, and reassurance.

'I hope this all works out in the end…' were my last thoughts before nothing seemed to make sense and my mind went completely…

 **Black…**

 ** _A/N: Wow, this chapter is finally done... I hoped you all enjoyed it, it sure took a long time to make due to it being 17k words in length._**

 ** _So now that both Aiva and Athena have been introduced to Zack, and have had thorough interactions with him, what do you think of there characters... I for one am extremely happy how they came out and they are going to be the root cause of many crazy adventures to happen in a few chapters. Also something that was a bit last minute planning was the phone call tour with Zack's family... I hope it was up to standard._**

 ** _Anyway, this shall be my last update for this story for the year of 2018 (seriously, these things take a while to make) hopefully the next one shall be out in late January or early February... so remember to like, follow, favourite, and comment telling me what you liked about this chapter and this story as a whole, and in the meantime I will be adamantly writing the next addition this adventure._**

 ** _So until next time!..._**


	7. Entry: A7

"Hmm…" Aiva's systems contently hummed as she finished booting up from out of her rest/recharge cycle, all while she lazily rolled her chassis towards the center of the bed, tediously outstretching her arm and lightly padding the bedding in search of her human.

"Good morning Darli…… Darling?" Aiva mumbled as she moved her arm about the covers to find that there was no one there.

Springing awake, Aiva frantically scanned the bed and room, turning up nothing.

"What's this?" She asked herself as she looked down to see something staining the tips of her digits.

(Dried Organic Fluid - Colour: dark crimson red - Containing: Iron/Oxygen/Carbon/etc... - Fluid Name: Blood.) Her onboard scanner displayed as Aiva looked at her fingertips curiously.

Moments later a second message popped up replacing the first, saying; (The substance 'blood' is a thick red fluid found in all living mammals, including humans. Blood is created, and stored within the organism's body and is used to deliver oxygen molecules to all organs and tissues spread amongst the organisms body, blood is also used to perform temporary tissue repairs to the organisms outer skin layer should damage ensure. Injuries resulting in substantial blood loss will result in the termination of the organism).

Seconds later, her vision became highlighted with nearby areas where this substance could be found, and to her dismay she found that there was a large area of dried blood staining the top of the mattress cover, along with a good portion of Emmi's clawed hands and mouth area.

"004 Wake up… our Darling is missing, and I believe he might be bleeding, possibly close to death." Aiva spoke worryingly as she shook Emmi awake.

Emmi rolled over onto her hands and knees where she smacked her lips curiously, as if she had tasted something savoury.

"... mmm, yummy…" She mumbled as she licked the dried blood off her claws.

"Emmi, that's Darlings blood… don't eat it, we don't need your systems getting addicted to something that our Darling needs on to survive." Aiva gasped in horror as she felt as if she was going to purge her tanks.

"No yummy…" Emmi spat as she stuck her long tongue out, and held her blood cover hand as far away from her faceplate as possible.

"Where could he be?… he's not inside my chassis, and what's worse is that this structures concrete foundation is interfering with my bio scanners." Aiva reasoned as she did a quick systems check ensuring that she did not accidentally form around him during her sleep mode. "At least I can feel his life force through the bond, strong as ever… so that's a huge relief… but then, where could he possibly be?" Aiva asked herself as she got off the bed, opened the door, and briskly left the dark bedroom.

"Daa~aarling!?!" She chanted as she searched the main room. After performing a thorough bioscan of the cages ecosystem, along with the remaining rooms she finally concluded that he wasn't in this building… he couldn't be.

 _"...it's so nice and quiet out here at this time, but kinda brisk when out of the sun..."_ She heard a muffled voice say from seemingly outside the walls.

"So my own twin sister took my Darling…" Aiva sneered as she turned and began storming her way up the stairs, three at a time.

"Where Zaza?" Emmi asked while she stumbled out of the bedroom, rubbing the sleepiness out of her bleary optics, then only barely catching sight of the bottoms of Aiva's glossy legs before they quickly disappeared from view. "Wait for Emmi!" She squeaked as she too hurried over and began crawling up the steep flight of stairs on all fours.

 **o0o**

"It's not very often that I wake up early enough to see a sunrise, thanks for letting me join you." I spoke as a tiny smile appeared on Athena's faceplate while we sat side by side on the side grassy hill.

"Nonsense Darling, I should be thanking you for accompanying me to my first Earthen sunrise… it truly is an honour I'm proud to bear." She happily admitted with her monotone voice as she slowly and cautiously placed her large armoured hand overtop mine, which I was currently leaning back on.

"Aha! I knew it… I knew you stole my Darling away from me." Aiva yelled as she threw open the metal hatch and stormed out of the stairwell and onto the grass towards us.

"Zaza!" Emmi happily exclaimed as she too exited the stairwell and skipped over to join us.

"Emmi was really worried for Zaza." She whimpered on the verge of tears as she dove into my lap.

"Well I'm all good now, see? So you don't have to worry about me anymore." I spoke as I sat her up in front of me only to spot that her claws, and lower faceplate was partly covered in blood.

"Ah Emmi your a mess… we should really go get you cleaned up." I responded as I recalled the events from last light.

"Darling, why was there mass amounts of dried blood in your bed? is that a customary human tradition, or were you injured accidentally?" Aiva nervously asked as she sat beside me, opposite to her sister.

"I had a little nose bleed that's all." I responded hesitantly after a few seconds of thinking. Aiva narrowed her fiery red optics at me in either a show of disbelief or intense interest. "Nosebleeds are pretty common for us humans, it's when the thin blood vessels in our nasal cavity breaks, causing us to bleed lots of blood… it's not that big of a deal and is something neither of you need to worry about, I'm alright." I added as I glanced down at the bandaged bite mark on my arm that was gently being cradled by Athena.

"I see…" Aiva skepticly replied as she thoroughly looked me up and down. Emmi on the other hand smiled happily in response to hearing the news that I was alright.

"Anyway… what's say we get a move on, Emmi you need a clean up and I could seriously go for some breakfast… what do you guys think of pancakes?" I asked as Aiva continued examining me.

"Yay pancakes!" Emmi exclaimed as she bounced up and ran back towards the entrance, her tail leaving a winding trail in the fresh morning dew.

"Now remember Emmi." I called out causing her to skid to a stop and face me.

"You'll only get pancakes if your nice and clean." I instructed as Emmi smiled widely at me, then quickly she turned back, continuing her pursuit into the underground base.

"Darling… why would you lie about something as serious as being injured?" Athena asked as the three of us stood up and watched as the remaining part of Emmi's tail disappeared into the stairwell.

"Yeah Darling, why would you hide something like that?" Aiva asked as she grabbed my arm and began inspecting the bandaged bite mark.

"I didn't want to make Emmi feel bad… she's so sensitive, and emotional that I feared that if I brought up her hurting me, then she would never feel comfortable around me again. So that's why I'm choosing to just live and forget." I spoke as Aiva stopped analyzing my wound and moved to wrap me in a big hug.

"Oh Darling that's so nice of you, but despite your generous kindness, you are still injured… and as your protectress and loving girlfriend I will make it my mission to nurse you back to health!" Aiva proclaimed when just after, Athena reached over and pulled me out of her grasp.

"Well if your his girlfriend… then I'm his wife! Meaning that I, outrank you." Athena declared with a subtle smirk as she wrapped her arms around my chest, further pushing me against her large Energon tanks.

"Oh yeah?… well then I'm his secret lover, meaning that he loves me enough to cheat on you!" Aiva smirked as she reached forward and pulled me back into her voluptuous grasp.

"Then if your his secret lover, then I'm his fuck bu-"

"Ok girls, that's enough…" I intervened as I pulled myself out of Aiva's grasp, and stood a few feet away to address them. "...let's… just get a move on." I added in defeat after I came up with nothing to diffuse the situation further, then I simply continued walking back towards the stairway.

"Darling wait…" Aiva called out mid stride, prompting me to stop and spin around to face her. "Let me carry your injured body inside Darling… we don't want you getting anymore hurt than you already are." Aiva swooned as she wrapped her arms around my upper body and tossed me effortlessly up into the air, until she was now me in a bridal carry.

"Thanks for the offer Aiva, but I think I'm fit to walk myself… after all it's just surface wound….. on my arm." I responded as I stepped down out of her arms and back onto the grassy ground.

"Awww you never let me do anything…" She pouted as she attempted to look offended, all while Athena briskly walked past her to join me at my side.

"That's because you've only been with me for a single day… give it some time to further earn my trust and you'll find that won't be the case at all." I responded as both Athena and I began descending the concrete steps back into the base, being quickly followed by Aiva as she didn't want to be left alone outside.

The main room was quiet and dark when compared to the bright and sunny outside, with the only audible sounds being the muffled hum of running water coming from our bathroom, along with the sharp sporadic and echoey clicking of a keyboard.

"Good morning Zack, you 4 are certainly up early… you didn't happen to have any troubles sleeping together, did you?" Veronica asked as she glanced up from her laptop, tilting her reading glasses onto her nose as she did so.

"No trouble at all, I slept like the dead." I responded with a smile as I walked off towards the kitchen, being sure to keep my injured arm out of view of Veronica, barely noticing Aiva and Athena freezing up momentarily due to my 'jarring' choice of wording.

"Anyway, I'm planning on making a huge stack of pancakes for breakfast… would you like some?" I asked as I looked out of the kitchen doorway.

"Hmm pancakes does sound heavenly right now, thank you for the offer hun." Veronica warmly smiled as Aiva glared at her with murder in her blazing optics.

"Uh, hey you two… why don't you come along and help me out. It'll be good for you both to learn what goes on behind the kitchen… and plus it'll be nice having an extra set of hands helping out." I suggested as Athena stared unimpressed at her sister, who was still death staring Veronica. Promptly Athena lifted her singular ponytail antenna and slugged her sister in the shoulder with it, almost causing Aiva tip and fall over before she snapped out of her trance, caught herself, and redirected her attention towards me.

"That sounds like fun Darling, be right with you!" Aiva sang as she and her twin briskly walked to join me in the kitchen.

"So how will we be assisting you Darling?" Athena lifelessly asked as the two of them positioned themselves slightly behind me, awaiting further instructions.

"Ok first things first, we'll need to wash our hands." I spoke as I began doing so by the sink, after finishing I turned back around to see Aiva who had her right arm raised up high in the air.

"Yes?" I asked as both femmes looked extremely confused by my actions.

"Darling… Why did you tell us to 'wash our hands?' What is the purpose of doing this? Is there something wrong with our hands and digits that needs to be fixed by running water over them?" Aiva asked with outstretched hands as she looked at me with slight worry.

"Oh no, there's nothing wrong with you, or your hands... it's just that washing one's hands is something that all people do before cooking, or handling food." I answered as Aiva brought her hands back to her sides, and began emanating feelings of relief.

"But if I might ask Darling… why do organic beings need to wash their extremities before handling food?" Athena asked curiously as I dried my hands on a nearby towel.

"Yeah don't say 'extremities' like that, makes it sound dirty… and the reason we all wash our hands is to get rid of most of the germs and harmful bacteria so it doesn't end up in the food we're preparing." I answered as the pair made a slight 'o' with there mouth.

"But Darling… if the purpose of washing one's hands is to remove bacteria, would we still have to do such an act if our protoforms outer surface layer were already microbial free?" Athena asked as again I looked up momentarily to think about what she just said.

"Well if your hands are already clean, then I see no reason to make you two do something that's unnecessary." I responded as I took a few steps over to the fridge and swung it open in order to see what I was working with,

both Aiva and Athena curiously peared in to see what the large, shiny box contained.

"Now that's done we're going to actually start cooking. Pancakes as a whole are extremely simple to cook and on top of that they also make for a delicious breakfast when garnished with maple syrup and fruit. Now all we have to do to is create a batter, using eggs, sugar, flour, and milk then we pour that batter into a hot pan, then flip and wait until it's cooked" I explained as I began pulling out a handful of bowls and ingredients from out of the cupboards and fridge, then ending by placing them on the countertop one by one.

"There's so many…" Aiva gleamed as I motioned for both of them to come stand at the counters edge, then verbally I began instructing them with what, and how much of each ingredient to pour into the large bowl.

Aiva seemed to have been enjoying herself as with each passing second she wore a big, excited smile on her faceplate as she eagerly poured and mixed the various ingredients into the large bowl.

Contrarily, Athena was behaving completely opposite to that of her sister, as she absolutely refused to touch any of the ingredients unless it was either in its predetermined packaging or in a sterile measuring cup. Also her faceplate contained a look of mild disgust as she watched Aiva mix the large bowl of ingredients together. Evidently she did not share the same passion for dealing with organic foods and ingredients that her sister did.

Eventually the two fell into a rhythm where Athena would carefully hand her sister the ingredients, while trying her hardest to not come into contact with any of the dripping batter that had nearly covered the entire front half of her sisters chassis, and Aiva who would happily nab the Ingredients from out of her sisters hands and dump them into the bowl, not caring in the slightest that tiny droplets of batter would splash onto her sisters sterile chassis.

"Must you do everything you can to get my chassis covered in batter?" Athena snapped as Aiva stopped mixing with her hands, and brought her attention to her sister.

"Yes." Aiva said with a smirk as she went back to mixing.

"I know where helping our Darling, but must you do it in such a shameful and messy manner?" She droned as Aiva turned her helm back towards her and stuck her tongue out at her.

"I happen to like getting my chassis dirty for a change, and what does it matter that you got a little dirty? You can just decontaminate your chassis, cleaning it in an instant." Aiva replied as stepped away from the counter and turned her dripping chassis towards her sister.

"Regardless, I prefer not degrade my unit and chassis to that of fragging barn animal… you are acting more and more like a human every second you spend on this piece of scrap dirt ball." Athena shouted just before her optics went all wide when she realized that I was still in the room. "Uh Darling I didn't mean it like that… it's just because…" she stammered as she waved her arms frantically in protest.

"Don't worry about it… no offence taken, you two sort out what you need to." I spoke with crossed arms as I stood across the room, outside of the spray radius, watching the two argue and fight.

"Darling, if I may... I would like to suggest that you punish my sister for acting like a filthy farm animal." Athena spoke as she pointed at her sister accusingly.

"Yeah I'm not going to do that, she hasn't done anything wrong… but if you feel like you don't want to help, you can leave if you want." I spoke as Athena's optics once again went wide.

"O-of course not Darling, I am willing to offer my spark and chassis to aid you in whatever you need help with… that includes if I do perhaps…… get a little messy..." Athena answered as she lowered her helm as if regretting what she had just said.

"You really don't like getting messy, do you?" I asked as I looked straight ahead at the two automatons, then towards mess that covered one of the femmes, and a good part of the floor and cabinets.

"No Darling… I do not…" She humbly admitted with her helm angled low, as if ashamed of that fact.

"There's nothing for you to be ashamed of, I understand… tell you what, how about you go tidy yourself up, then after you help Emmi clean the blood off herself, if she hasn't done so already… then once your done that… you can come back and begin to set the table for breakfast." I suggested as Athena took a few steps away from the counter towards me, bent over slightly and kissed me lightly on the side of the cheek.

"Thank you Darling… I really do love you." She happily, yet coldly whispered in my ear as a wave of pleasant feeling emotions gently washed over me, just before she promptly straightened out and briskly marched out of the kitchen.

"Well… I guess it just you and me now…" I spoke as I walked towards the mess that Aiva had just made.

"Just the way I like it Darling!" She joyfully exclaimed as she bounced her dripping chassis ever so slightly, causing her exposed breast like Energon tanks to jiggle, causing with even more batter to drip to the floor.

"This is quite the mess, i'm honestly impressed on how much you were able to get out of the bowl." I spoke as Aiva silently rubbed the back of her head in embarrassment.

"Yeah… I might have gotten a little carried away." She bashfully admitted.

"You think? It looks like a cake has exploded in here!... anyway, what's in the past can't be changed… so let's just clean this bomb up, and then we'll use the remaining batter to make pancakes. If there's not enough, then we'll just makes some more." I instructed as Aiva brought a batter covered hand to her forehead and saluted in acknowledgement. "Sounds good Darling!"

"Geez, you are quite the mess…" I said as I looked at the new gooey splotch mark that she had just left imprinted on the top of her smiling faceplate.

"You should really go clean yourself up, then after we'll work on giving this kitchen a bit of a clean up so we can actually start cooking." I spoke as Aiva's optics went wide with anticipation, but despite that she just remained there standing, and staring at me with excitement.

"Go on, that batters not going to clean itself." I spoke when suddenly the batter that once coated Aiva's large chassis miraculously began to bubble and dissolve, before disappearing completely from the surface of her chassis.

"Ah… all clean now Darling!" She contently purred as she threw her arms around me, and pulled me into her freshly cleaned chassis.

"Now that is super cool… it's like having the ability to shower on demand, but without having the annoyance of getting wet." I spoke from within Aiva's arms as I felt her body begin to purr slightly.

"Now if only you could make the rest of this mess disappear." I asked as Aiva frowned slightly at me.

"Sadly not Darling… my chassis sterilization works by superheating the first three layers of my protoform, if I were to sterilizing the area around me it would result in you, and the surrounding area being turned to ash… until I find an alternative method of cleaning the surround areas, I will refrain from using my sterilization protocols for general cleaning purposes." She quietly admitted as she squeezed her arms ever so slightly tighter.

"Well, thanks anyway for not baking me alive." I joked as I felt a tinge of fear creep its way into the bond, and by extension me.

"Don't say things like that Darling… it makes my spark feel as if I am soon going to lose you…" She whimpered as she pulled me even harder against her chest while later resting the side of her faceplate on the top of my head.

"I… I will try to remember that…" I admitted as partial guilt filled my mind.

"And… I'm sorry Darling…" Aiva added as her grip remained tight, not painful.

"For what?"

"I wasn't able to use my systems to clean up the mess, that I made… I'm a failure…" She sniffled as a few streaks of lubricant dripped from out of the corner of her optics, causing certain sections of my hair to become slightly damp.

"Your not a failure just because you made one mistake, or because you weren't able to do one specific thing like magically making the cabinets and counter clean… your only considered a failure by me if you don't learn from simple mistakes like these." I admitted as I felt Aiva physically, and emotionally begin to calm down.

"You really are too nice and caring Darling… but that's one of the reasons I love you…" She contently hummed as she continued holding within her grasp.

"I don't want to break up what we have going on here… but we really should get on with making breakfast." I spoke as I wiggled my way out of Aiva's arms and walked over to the cabinet that kept the cleaning clothes, sponges and cleaners.

"And since we can't fall back on to your mythical automaton abilities, I guess we'll have to clean this mess up the old fashion way… with soap and sponges." I voiced as I began wiping the dirty surfaces, soon after Aiva joined in and after a few minutes of rigours scrubbing, coupled with her great speed, all the dirty surfaces were now spotless.

"And now we can start cooking… again." I said as I put away the cleaning supplies and subsequently pulled out the frying pan, and spatula.

After warming the pan, and making the first few pancakes as a demonstration, I let Aiva have a go at it. She picked it up surprisingly quickly with all her movements looking suspiciously like mine, and if for whatever reason she got stuck on something, then I would verbally direct her. But just for the record I specifically left out the part on flipping the pancakes in the air, completely out of fear that with her insane automaton strength I would be left with a large hole in the concrete ceiling where the head of the steel pan had snapped off and imbedded itself into.

After a few not so successful attempts, Aiva had become like a high functioning factory, producing perfect pancakes every minute. As all this was happening Athena finally reappeared, seemingly out of breath…

"Sorry for the delay Darling… but apparently Emmi had ingested a lot of your… fluids, and it took me longer than expected to thoroughly disinfect her internals so as to eliminate any possibility of the organic material rotting." Athena explained as she skidded to a halt, and straightened herself up to her full 7 ft tall stance.

"How much was there?... actually never mind, don't tell me, I don't want to know." I asked but then immediately regretted it when Athena began to open her mouth to speak.

"But it's all done right?" I finally asked as I carefully inspected her chassis up and down.

"Affirmative… my chassis along with Emmi's has been thoroughly decontaminated, Emmi is currently in the main room drawing… Regardless I am now prepared to begin the next part of my assignment.." She confidently responded as I motioned her over to a section of cupboards that held the plates, cutlery and other eating utensils.

After loading each of us up with a stack of plates, cutlery, and napkins as well as the necessary pancake supplies I went along with Athena to show her how to set up the table, afterwards I returned to the kitchen and brought Aiva along with the large stack of pancakes into the main room.

"Oh these look good." Robbie drooled as the rest of the group walked out of there rooms to join us.

"It's incredible, they're all so perfectly round…" Ana swooned in bewilderment as we all sat down, and began loading up our plates with what we wanted for breakfast.

"So what are the plans for today?" I asked once all the humans had finished grabbing, and had begun eating.

"Well… we were considering going into town sometime after we finish up our work, were all getting a little bored being here and we figured a change of pace would be nice… you can even bring Emmi and the other two if you like." Robbie answered in between mouthfuls of pancakes.

"Yeah that does sound nice… it would also be good for these three to experience some Earth culture instead of just being cooped up in here with nothing to do… although, I do wonder if it is the wisest to bring them along, especially because it was only yesterday that both Aiva and Athena had terrorized literally everyone at the SEED centre." I responded as Emmi was eagerly helping herself to sugary pancake, and a bowl of ripe blueberries.

"We will be sure to remain on our best behaviour when out in public." Athena spoke from directly behind me, as she refused to participate in anything revolving breakfast.

"And also, we'll need to be constantly by your side... in case something dangerous happens…" Aiva added as she was awkwardly ripping small pieces off a dry pancake and eating them.

"Well, alright if you two promise to be in your best behaviour then I don't see a reason to not let you guys tag along." I said as I took a bite of a syrup drenched pancake.

"It's settled then, we'll leave an hour before lunch, giving us enough time to finish up, while also allowing us to get lunch at some restaurant… cause honestly I'm tired of eating home food…" Robbie said with a full mouth as the rest of the team kept eating in silence.

"Uh… hey Zack… I've been meaning to ask. What's with the bandage on your ar-" Veronica began to ask but quickly stopped when she saw me feverishly motioning for her to drop the subject, all while Emmi looked up radiating complete innocent curiosity.

"Nothing happened to my arm… you must being seeing things." I stressed as I looked at her seriously.

"Ah yes… my mistake, it was just your shirt." Veronica continued as she looked back down at her plate.

"What's wrong with Zaza's shirt?" Emmi asked innocently as she looked at me while curiously leaning against my side.

"Nothing Emmi… there's wrong with me or my shirt." I replied as I placed a hand on her head, causing her to smile then promptly return all attention back to her breakfast, quietly humming a shows theme as she chewed.

"So what is it that you guys need to finish?" I asked as we all continued eating at a steady pace.

"Oh just some reports on what's happened as of recent, the higher ups are getting a little antsy after yesterday's report, and are expecting an update on how your two new additions are behaving." Ana replied as I felt the hard stares of both Aiva and Athena on my skin.

"All glowing reports I hope." I added as each of the humans glanced at me momentarily.

"Well, so far we aren't dead so in my books that's worth at least a good report." Jonas spoke as he mindlessly stabbed at his pancake.

"Same with me, they seem to be behaving themselves so I see no reason to report anything negative." Ana added with a bright smile, that almost seemed a little too enthusiastic.

"Thanks guys, that's great to hear… I just hoping that some positive reports will help alleviate their bad reputation, so your support and cooperation is greatly appreciated." I sincerely thanked as the team hummed in agreement while we finished up the last few bites of our meal.

"We should be the ones thanking you for making us such a nice breakfast… and you don't have to worry about the clean up, we'll do it." Robbie spoke as they all stood up in unison and began collecting all the dirty dish ware."

"I'm glad you liked it, but you should really be thanking Aiva as she was the one who cooked the majority." I spoke as Veronica raised a surprised, yet approving eyebrow at the news.

"N-no… I was simply only following your directions Darling, you should get all the praise." She spoke bashfully as her optics lit up in shock.

"Uh… okay then…" The group hesitantly replied as they hastily hurried into the kitchen. Leaving me along with the 3 other automatons to do as we please.

"So, what are we going to do till we're ready to go into town?" I asked as both Aiva and Athena's optics lit up with excitement.

"Darling… if we may suggest, we would like to privately strengthen our sparkbond with you." Athena asked as stepped back so as to let me stand up from the bench.

"That sounds awfully naughty." I laughed as the pair of them looked at me confused.

"We can interface if you like… but we were more thinking of furthering your understanding on our sparkbond and the different functions it is capable of producing." Athena clarified as the two of them slowly began directing me towards our room.

"Zaza?…" Emmi quietly muttered from behind the two towering femmes legs.

"Yes Emmi?" I asked as I dug my heels into the concrete floor, causing me to stop a little faster than expected. Turning to her I noticed that she seemed even more timid than usual, as she refused to look directly at me and speak.

"If your trying to say that you would rather colour or watch tv, you can… I'll be right in this room if you need me." I spoke as she bounced up with a bright smile and tightly hugged my leg, then as soon as it had begun, she had already let go and skipped over to the coffee table in amongst the couches, eager to start drawing once again.

"Now were going to be well and truly alone Darling… there is no escaping us now, your mine to do as I please." Aiva aggressively sneered, with flaming optics as she lowered herself so that her helm was at equal level to mine.

"That's enough." Athena commanded as she firmly tugged her sister by one of her long antennae.

"You will need to learn some self control sister, or your eventually going to end up hurting him one day." She further explained as we walked into the bedroom and sat on the bed.

"So… what exactly are we going to be doing?" I asked as the pair of them eagerly positioned themselves so that they were each sitting on either side of me.

"We thought that it would be wise for you to learn some of the basic functions that can utilized with the our sparkbond." Athena explained with her usual monotone voice.

"So that's why we're going to teach you Darling! In case you ever find yourself in danger then you'll be able to use these abilities to alert us or to directly help yourself." Aiva added as she threw her arms up in the air for extra emphasis.

"So the first thing we're going to teach you is how to access your HUD, or heads up display… you can do this at any point, whether your conscious, dead, or in a coma. It allows you quick access to almost all of your bond given tools, and system menus. But just remember that using these abilities for a prolonged period of time will drain you of your physical energy, causing you to experience mental fatigue." Athena explained as she stared at me blankly.

"So if I overuse these abilities then I'll just get tired? Are there any other… side effects that I should know of?..." I asked skeptically.

"Not that our mother has informed us about, but rest assured Darling, if there are any unforeseen consequences they will merely be temporary." Athena clarified as she continued sitting like a lifeless statue.

"Alright… so how do I look at this HUD?" I asked as Aiva shot her hand up.

"That's easy Darling, all you have to do is think that you want to see your HUD, although I do believe it is initially easier to do when you have your eyes closed." She instructed as proceeded to close my eyes and mentally think that you want to see your HUD.

Suddenly my dark eyelids lit up and I was met with an interface that looked completely alien.

"Whoa that's so cool, I feel like I'm in a video game." I exclaimed as I moved my hands in front of my face. "But what happens if I accidentally think about my HUD while like driving or doing something where I don't need it?" I asked as I looked up from the bed.

"You don't have to worry about that Darling, although your HUD is easy to activate needing only a simple thought, it still requires for you to want it there, meaning that unless you subconsciously want it, or need it, your HUD will never just accidentally pop up… the same works for putting it away, all you have to do is think that you don't want to see it anymore and it will disappear." Aiva explained as I directed my attention towards her, there appeared a little tag that was next to her spark and chest that although appeared very small, still showed me lots of informations about her.

"Interesting…" I said as I looked focused my attention away from my surroundings and into my HUD's interface.

Towards the side I saw a little tab named (Sparkbond) and after focusing on it the area became highlighted, followed by the section being opened. In this subsection I found the name of my sparkbond or 'clan' as the HUD implied, written in futuristic lettering at the top. ARCTiCa… and further down I found the unit numbers, names, and current conditions of each unit in my clan. Currently there were only 3 automatons in my clan with the max amount of available 'slots' being around 10 in total, there were also a few more slots open on this page that were currently crossed out, perhaps they will unlock when I get more experience.

After thoroughly exploring this section I focused on the main menu on the HUD and magically my view changed so I was there again.

"Wow, this interface is really intuitive." I exclaimed as I felt a pair of warm smiles directed at me.

"Alright, hit me with what's next." I confidently spoke as through the bond I felt the both of them tense up a bit.

"If you wish, we can attempt conversing telepathically through the bonds messaging matrix." Athena suggested as she almost lost me with her big words.

"Mentally talking through the bond is really easy, just pretend your talking with me, but using your thoughts. And remember I will only hear you if you want me to hear you, same goes with my twin, or Emmi… give it a try Darling." She excitedly sang as she brought her hands together in front of her bountiful chest in anticipation.

'Man, Aiva sure looks cute when she does that.' I subconsciously thought as I looked at her, causing her to smile widely and suddenly lunge forward into me.

"Ok, talking through the bond seems easy enough… what's next?" I asked as I leaned out of her arms, and pushed her back to sitting by her shoulders.

"Well, if you activate your HUD and turn on tracking mode, then when you look around you will see where, and how far we are in relation to you, here you can also pin/highlight areas of interest that are around you. Also if anyone of us are around you then you will be able to use our onboard scanners to analyze different materials, distances, and substances which the results will appear right here on your HUD." Aiva explained as I looked around the room, only for my attention to be caught on a faint pink outline of Emmi, who was sitting on the couch in the other room. A tag above her read (004 - Emmi, in proximity).

"Ok, that's handy… what else?" I spoke as I felt myself suddenly become slightly drowsy.

"Darling are you alright? If you are mentally fatigued then we can let you rest, then later we can resume our activity." Athena spoke as she put an arm behind my back in case I were to fall back on her.

"No it's fine, it's just a little headspin… I'm good to go on." I responded as I shook my head, and looked at her. "Let's keep going."

"Are you sure Darling? There is no shame with stopping." Aiva asked as she looked at me anxiously.

"I'm fine… I can continue." I spoke as I glanced at both of them to see there less than enthusiastic expressions on there face plates. "But if I do reach the point where I can't keep going, then I'll be sure to stop and rest… happy?" I added as Aiva dramatically perked up, and Athena hummed in approval.

"Alright then, the final ability that we would wish to teach you is how to look remotely look through our optics… like every other tool that we have shown you this can be activated anywhere, at anytime. But for the ease learning you will be directed to physically interact with my chassis." Athena spoke as she sat up straight and further watched me.

"Begin by placing the palm of your hand over top my chest, right above where my Energon tanks begin. There you should feel my pulsing spark and it's energy field." Athena instructed as watched me from above lean over and hesitantly place my hand just above where her cleavage began.

"I think I can feel it…" Athena rolled her helm back slightly, while firmly biting the edge of her polymer lip.

"T-That's good D-darling…" She muttered through clenched denta.

"Am I hurting you?" I asked worryingly as I began to remove my hand, but before I could break contact with her chest, a firm hand clasped around my wrist, holding me against her smooth polymer skin.

"Not at all…" Athena spoke with an oddly sincere smile. "I have just never had you touch my chassis in such a sensual and loving way… needless to say I was not fully prepared for such sensations." She admitted with a sultry look in her optics as she bowed her helm down to my level.

"So… are we going to continue? Or do you need a break?" I asked as Athena sat there with heavy breaths.

"No… I can continue, I will just need to try harder to suppress my emotions and desires so as to make sure I don't do anything… inappropriate…" She spoke with her usual cold demeanour as she looked at me expectantly.

"Ok… then… what's next?" I asked as I felt Aiva begin to grow impatient from behind.

"With your hand placed directly over my spark, proceed by picturing you pushing your consciousness through your hand and into my spark for the sole purpose to see what I currently can." She instructed as I tried, and pushed, and grunted… but to no avail.

"That's okay Darling, try again." Athena gently comforted as she reached forward and placed her armoured hand on my shoulder.

With a second attempt I pictured firmly in my mind that I was pushing myself out of my body and into Athena's spark.

After a few seconds my vision went black, and my body felt like it had lost all sensations of touch, like all my verve's had collectively shut off at once.

"Darling… can you hear me?" I heard Aiva's muffled voice call out from outside of the darkness. Opening my mouth to respond I found that I couldn't, in fact it was like I was floating in complete darkness without a body to call my own.

Suddenly my mind lit up as a series of quick scrolling futuristic text boxes rapidly filled my vision... one by one...

 ** _(Master spark detected - Head sparkmate: Zack Axel: - beginning remote systems control...)_**

 ** _(Host unit: 005 - Athena: on standby… system access requested...)_**

 ** _(System access acquired…)_**

 ** _(Master spark: Zack Axel: given primary access to unit: 005 - Athena's: chassis...)_**

 ** _(Unit: 005 - Athena's: spark standing by…)_**

The text boxes ended as I felt my ghostly self being placed into a new body of immense power.

"Darling… are you okay?" I heard Aiva ask again with a worried tone in her voice.

"Yeah… I'm alright, I must have blacked out momentarily." I answered as my vision returned and my attention was brought upon Aiva… who surprisingly jumped back at the sound of my voice.

"Darling… is that… you?" She asked in confusion.

"Yeah… it's me…" I responded with an equal amount of confusion as I noticed that the two of us were now sitting at an equal height.

"Wait a second…" I pondered as it seemed that my chest felt unusually heavy,

"Am I… in Athena's body?" I asked as I glanced down to see her two massive Energon tanks.

"Darling your so pretty now, but I did prefer your old body… it was much cuter and easier to hold." Aiva admitted as she inched closer on the bed.

"What the… how can this be?... I thought I was only supposed to see what she saw… not take over her body." I frantically spoke Aiva out a hand to her chin.

"I have no idea… it must have been a last second change to the sparkbond system that mother forgot to tell us about… or perhaps you subconsciously desired to take over her chassis." Aiva nonchalantly suggested and shrugged like it was no big deal.

"Just forgot to tell you about… how many more surprises should I be expecting?... WAIT, what happened to Athena?" I asked in shock as Aiva gazed at me with mild interest in my question.

"Do not worry about me Darling, my spark is safe… I am merely have been put into standby while you use my systems and chassis to the fullest of your desires… once you are satisfied, you will return to your own body, and my spark will be allowed full control of my chassis once again." Athena's voice answered from within my mind. "And before you ask, no my twin sister cannot hear my voice… only you can while in this state."

"Okay, nevermind... your sister apparently is safe." I answered as Aiva had a sultry smile on her faceplate.

"Hey Darling, let's interface with your new chassis." Aiva teased as within me Athena became very nervous, and unsettled.

"That sounds like a great idea… we should have sex while I'm in this new body." I responded as Athena felt like she was going to breakdown.

"Darling, I know I'm not in any position to object… but could you please not..." Athena begged on the verge of tears as her spark and emotions quivered from inside my new body.

"Don't worry, I'm just teasing you." I mentally responded causing her to feel at ease.

Focusing back to the real world I found that I was becoming more in tune with this new body, everything began to make sense and I felt a new sense of knowledge for everything that surrounded me.

Including an odd, light amount of weight that was pressing against my thighs and stomach areas.

"Oh shit…" I muttered in surprise as my sights were brought upon my real unconscious body, that was lying lifelessly on me.

"Are you okay Darling?" Both Aiva and Athena asked in rapid response.

"Yeah I'm fine… I just wasn't expecting to see my own body from you know… another body…" I admitted as I reached down and lifted me up carefully by the torso.

"It feels so light… and delicate…" I spoke as my body felt like I was holding a piece of paper.

"Remember Darling, since your not in control of your organic body it will be substantially weaker than if you were in full control of it yourself." Athena explained as I continued staring at unconscious me.

"Is it weird that I'm kind of wanting myself?" I asked hesitantly, as I felt Athena grow anxious.

"It might be a result of our sparks being temporarily merged, and parts of my emotion matrix intertwining with yours… I-I'm sorry if it's causing you any discomfort Darling…" She admitted nervously while I continued eyeing my unconscious self up and down.

"How about I take you, off your hands Darling?" Aiva asked with outstretched arms, as feelings began to stir up inside me, telling me to take this body and hold it close so that no harm would ever come to it.

Eventually, and somewhat regretfully… I placed my body into the arms of who happily hugged it close, then suddenly the front half of her chassis opened up and she tucked my entire body inside her hollow chassis.

"Now that your body is safe inside me… we have the freedom to get a little personal with your new body." Aiva sang as her chassis had just finished closing, sealing my body away from view.

Come to think about, it felt like I was experiencing heartache from seeing myself being taken away from me.

"What the hell?!?" I suddenly yelled as I hunched over and had to forcefully push those thoughts out of my mind.

"Are you okay Darling?" Both automatons asked again in unison as I sat there staring at the linens.

"No… I need to get out of Athena… I think I'm becoming gay for my own unconscious body and it's fucking weird." I explained as subtle relief emanated from Athena, while Aiva looked down with mild disappointment.

"Tell me how to get back into my own body this instant." I demanded as Aiva lowered her optics in submission, as she hid a wicked smile out of view.

"What's the rush Darling?… Why not instead of doing that, you just lay back and I can show you how… versatile we femmes truly can be." Aiva drooled with lust filling her burning red optics as she violently, and rather unexpectedly lunged forward onto me and my new body, forcing me back onto the bed.

"Aiva get off me, this isn't the time…" I explained as she looked at me with a less than thrilled look on her faceplate while continuing to lay overtop both Athena and I.

"I mean, at least wait for me to be back in my own body… it just feels wrong to be doing it in someone else's..." I added coyly as she cracked a small smile in defeat and subsequently hopped off and returned to her spot previously on the bed.

"Now, how do I get back into my own body." I asked as I proceed to sit back up, with only a slight wobble in my balance as the extra weight by my chest almost caused me to topple over.

"Just picture in your mind that your soul is exiting my sisters chassis and is going back into your own body… similarly to before, but just in reverse." Aiva happily explained as she sat on the bed, rocking her chassis ever so slightly with her arms cradled around her voluptuous Energon tanks.

"Alright…" I muttered as I closed my eyes and began to concentrate, then suddenly an idea came to mind.

"Hmm… how about we take my actual body and trick Emmi and the team into thinking that I died or something like that?" I suggested as Athena became wary and Aiva adopted a wicked smile on her faceplate.

"Sounds fun Darling, lets do it!" Aiva eagerly agreed with clenched fists as her burning red optics sparkled with excitement.

"No, absolutely not Darling, I cannot allow you to use my chassis for something as immature as that…" Athena firmly objected as I felt her presence in my mind flare up.

"And what are you going to do to stop me?" I asked loudly causing Athena to freeze up and Aiva to first look confused, then smug as she finally caught on to who I was talking to.

"...Nothing Darling… I can't force you to do anything unless you truly want to... do as you please..." She replied quietly, causing me to rethink my initial idea.

"I see… well in that case I'll take your word for it and reconsider." I said as I closed my eyes and focused on myself returning to my original body.

Once again, like before, my vision went completely black and all physical sense of my body had disappeared before suddenly I was back in my own organic body like nothing had happened.

My vision returned and my nerves recalibrated themselves to my real bodies surroundings. But sometimes just seemed a little off.

"Hey guys, I don't think it worked properly…" I spoke with a muffled voice as my vision seemed exactly like Athena's HUD when I was in control of her, along with that my body seemed stiff and cramped like I was wearing a super stiff leather jacket.

"Hehe don't wiggle around like that Darling, it tickles." Aiva giggled as a small box containing a simple image of her faceplate appeared in the corner of my vision along with 4 little wavy lines indicating that it was in fact her speaking.

"Aiva… am I inside you?" I asked skeptically as she answered with a resounding. "Yup!... and might I add that you feel so good inside me…"

Now in retrospect it should have been obvious to me that I was I was now inside Aiva's hollow chassis, considering that I myself watched her place my unconscious body inside her, but jumping between different bodies is VERY disorienting so cut me a little slack.

"Sister, let him out… it's disorienting enough for him to be changing bodies that the last thing he needs is you playing games with him." Athena spoke as through Aiva's onboard vision I saw that Athena had finished her boot up cycle and was now sitting patiently in her previous spot.

"But I don't wanna…" Aiva whined as I felt the sides of her chassis begin to slowly tighten around my less than rigid body.

"Yeah, I think I'm going to have to agree with your sister on this one… could you let me please." I asked as felt a low grumble, rumble through me as she reluctantly opened her chassis front facing panels, causing myself to be unexpectedly be thrown face first into Athena's busty Energon tanks.

"Well if I can't have you inside me, then I demand that you take control of my systems like how you did for my sister." Aiva spoke as I heard her chassis close up and return to normal while I remained lying on Athena.

"Are you okay Darling?" Athena asked as she placed a gentle hand on top of my hair.

"Yeah I'm ok… just a little tired is all… I might just lay here for a little bit if that's okay with you…" I replied as barely managed to look up and see Athena's almost smiling faceplate.

"I don't mind Darling, you can rest on me for as long as you like." She contently spoke.

"Aww Darling… why don't you want to spend any time with me?" Aiva pouted as she dramatically flopped on to her back beside me, with her arms tucked up to her large chest like a dog girl.

"I promise I'll spend time with you eventually… it just happened that this time around Athena stole the spotlight." I replied as I attempted to put a hand on her shoulder but ended up missing completely, thus resulting in me slapping her in the faceplate.

"Hmm, I like it when you play rough Darling…" Aiva swooned with a sultry tone as she reached up, grabbed my hand, and lightly began nibbling on my fingers.

"Of course you do…" I replied no impressed as she eventually stopped biting and instead opted to simply hold my hand against her cheek.

"So Darling, is it my turn for you to have your way with me?... I only ask that you be gentle with my virgin chassis..." Aiva playfully pouted causing me to laugh at her antics.

"Lets just see how the team is coming along with their work…and maybe if they'll be a while I could rest a little… that sparkbond stuff really took it out of me." I spoke forcing the 3 of us to get up and leave the room.

Once out, I spotted that only Veronica sat in the main room, watching what looked to be Bob Ross. Out of all the shows that came and went over the years, Bob Ross was one of the few that never fell out of style. Despite the fact of it being discontinued.

"Hey Veronica, how's everyone coming along?" I asked as I took a seat next to her, leaving the pair of automaton femmes to stand behind the couch.

"They're still working in their rooms, I think they'll be done within the hour." She answered as she mindlessly flipped through a magazine that looked to have been read a thousand times.

"And what about Emmi, where is she?" I asked as I curiously looked around in search of her long tail and pink optics.

"I'm not to sure… she was watching tv with me for quite a while, when suddenly she just stood up and left. I had assumed that she went to go see you, but apparently that's not the case…" She clarified as she too began looking around the large and relatively empty room.

"I'll go look for her." I reluctantly spoke as I began shifting to stand up.

"No it's ok, I'll do it…" She spoke as she instead stood up.

"You sure? Emmi is my responsibility after all." I asked skeptically.

"Of course I'm sure, Emmi is part of our little family… plus I've been looking for an excuse to get up for sometime." Veronica spoke as she casually walked towards the kitchen, reasoning it to be the one of the few places she could hide.

"Hmm… alright, if your sure." I exhaled as I resettled on the couch, ready to rest a little.

"Hey Darling, what's this?" Aiva asked while pointing underneath the coffee table as both femmes simultaneously joined me on the couch.

"That my dear is a Rubik's cube, it's a puzzle where the goal is to get every side one solid colour." I explained as I reached down and picked it up. Both automatons optics lit up as they stared at the colourful cube with intense interest.

"Here, try it." I spoke as I handed the cube off to Aiva who began familiarizing herself with how it worked.

"Did I do it?" She asked with an narrowed optics as the cube remained solved.

"No, you have to scramble it first, so that all the colours are random, then you try and solve it." I clarified as I took the cube out of her hand and mixed it up.

"Ooh…" She hummed as the cube was once again placed in her large, slender hands.

"And I'm not going to help you on this one… I had to learn the hard way, and so will you." I spoke as I grabbed the remote and began searching for what to watch just as I heard Veronica enter the kitchen.

 **o0o**

"Emmi? What are you doing in here hun?" Veronica asked as she entered through the large industrial kitchen doors to see Emmi tediously balancing on the tip of her outstretched tail, attempting to reach into one of the tall over head cabinets.

"Uh…" Emmi squeaked as she slowly looked over at Veronica like a kid caught with there hand in the candy bowl.

"Why don't you come on down from there dear… you look like your going to fall." Veronica added as she watched Emmi hanging there in her precarious position.

"Emmi can't… she's stu-" She began explaining but before she could finish the tip of her tail slipped from underneath her, causing her to go tumbling towards the ground, hitting her helm hard against the counters edge on the way down.

"Oh my… Emmi are you alright?" Veronica quickly asked as she rushed over to Emmi's side, who was currently sprawled out in a mess of limbs and tail with a large metal colander covering the top of her helm. There was also a large indent present on the edge of the thick stainless steel countertop from where Emmi had hit her helm.

Lifting the colander slowly caused Emmi to freak out and squirm about until she was sitting in an upright position, with knees tucked, and the colander still covering the majority of her helm and faceplate.

"Honey there's no need for you to be scared of me… you had an accident and I just want to see if your alright. Your not in any trouble." Veronica gently spoke as she kneeled down to Emmi's level, who was attempting to hide behind her tail and colander.

"Emmi no in… trooble?" She asked as Veronica partially lifted the colander revealing her nervous faceplate.

"No sweetie, your not in any trouble… are you okay? That was a nasty fall you had." Veronica asked as she fully removed the colander and placed it on the dented counters edge.

"Emmi is okay…" She quietly admitted as Veronica inspected her helm, to her surprise she found no marks at all.

"I'm glad… I would feel so awful if I knew you got hurt under my watch." Veronica admitted as she reached her arms around Emmi's neck and slowly began pulling her small body into her embrace. Emmi squeaked in protest but made no actual attempt to escape.

"Now, what were you looking for hun?" Veronica sweetly asked as she swept a gentle hand along the length of Emmi's cheek.

"Cookies……" Emmi admitted as she pointed to a bright blue and yellow box that was half hanging out of the open cabinet.

"You should have just asked sweetie, I can't have have you hurting yourself over something as simple as a box of cookies." Veronica spoke as she stood up to retrieve the box in question.

"But that being said, I'm not Zack so I don't know what exactly he does, or doesn't want you eating… but just between us you can have a few, just next time ask first." She spoke as she opened the box and slid the tray out, letting Emmi grab a few before she hugged Veronica's legs and skipped out of the room.

"Such a sweetheart, Zack is a lucky bastard for having her." She smiled warmly as she grabbed a cookie of her own, then promptly placed the tray back inside the box, then back into the cabinet, before turning on a sharp heel and walking back into the main room.

 **o0o**

"Ah there you are Emmi, where'd you run off to?" I asked as I rubbed her soft hair after she unexpectedly dove into my lap.

She didn't answer, and instead only muttered something incoherent in response as if she had something in her mouth that she was chewing and eating.

"Whatcha got there Emmi?" I asked as she rested her cheek against the side of her hand.

"...cookies…." She hummed as she sat there half kneeling, half lying on my lap.

"I hope you didn't eat too many, I don't want you acting overly hyper… at least I think that's how sugar works affects your kind…" I admitted as I went back to focusing on the still scrambled cube that was in Aiva's armoured hands.

"The consumption of sugar does not affect our units performance. Sugar, like anything else that's consumed by us, will be turned into Energon by our onboard converter… but having set boundaries on how much she's recommended to have will prevent her from getting addicted to that particular substance." Athena spoke as her sister continued turning each multicoloured side, but making no progress whatsoever.

"That's good I guess… the fact that what you eat doesn't really affect you guys." I spoke as Aiva grunted in defeat as she placed the coloured cube back on the coffee table, then with one smooth motion her forearm transformed into her multi barrelled, energy gun whose barrels rotated elegantly around her arm as she aimed directly at the tiny Rubik's cube.

"I will not be made a fool by a twisty coloured cube, PREPARE TO BE DESTROYED!" She roared as I felt myself chuckling at the scenario.

"Let's just put this away for now…" I said as I put my hand on the outside of her guns slow spinning barrels, and tilted it away from the cube.

"Fine…" She muttered as all 8 barrels morphed and disappeared, leaving her arm smooth while she slumped back onto the couch and sat dejectedly in silence.

"If your really getting that frustrated by this, then maybe you should take a break."

"Hey what's with all the yelling? Did we miss the party?" Robbie asked as he, Ana, and Jonas left there room to join us.

"No party, just one automaton getting frustrated over not being able to solve a Rubik's cube." I explained as Aiva grumbled quietly in protest while Athena reached forward to give her attempt at solving it.

"So, you guys done your work? Cause I am dying for some fresh air and little activity." I asked as they moved throughout the room to sit where they felt most comfortable.

"Yup, were done and ready to go… and since we finished before noon like planned, we can go grab some lunch in town, to have a bit of change from eating here so often." Robbie spoke as he wrapped his arms around Veronica.

"That sounds like a plan to me." I responded as Athena visibly looked like she was having trouble with the Rubik's cube.

"I've been dying to go into town for a while, but haven't had the opportunity until now… I'm going to get myself some new clothing and makeup." Ana sang as she began collecting her boots and jacket from the closet next to the entrance.

"I'm gonna see if I can find a new laptop, or at the very least a new hard drive for my current one… it's amazing how much space these reports can take up." Jonas added as he too began getting ready to leave.

"I guess that's our cue." I spoke as we all stood up and prepared to go out. That personally meant for me to grab my wallet, phone and sunglasses. Then we all climbed the steep concrete steps until we were out of the dark and gloomy base.

"I just realized, we're not going to be able to fit everyone in the truck." Ana spoke as we unlock the X-trek that was hidden under a large tarp, on the edge of where the thick forest began.

"Yeah I guess that is gonna be a problem… Sorry you two, but I'm afraid your 7 ft tall alien bodies are just too big to fit in a pitiful Earth vehicle." I admitted as the pair poked there helms in to see that the passenger cabin was indeed, a little on the small side.

"But considering both of you can fly, I don't think this is much of an issue at all." I spoke as Aiva's optics went wide in surprise.

"Are you saying that you don't want us to ride with you Darling?" She mumbled furiously.

"Aiva, there's just no space for the both of you to ride with me, plus you guys have a way to get there naturally… and besides it's not like you'll never see me again, it's a half hour car trip, I think you'll be fine without me for that amount of time." I explained as we all began piling in.

"What if you flew inside one of our chassis Darling? That way you could arrive so much faster!" She asked desperately as Robbie and Jonas sat up front, and the rest of us hopped in the back.

"I'll do it eventually, but I think I've had enough experimenting for one day." I spoke as I helped Emmi hop up into the rather tall vehicle.

"Or maybe, we could… ride on the roof?..." She skeptically added in a last ditch attempt.

"No, I'm pretty sure that's illegal, and I really don't want to be drawing any extra attention to you girls unless absolutely necessary… look it's not even that big of a deal, just follow us at a reasonable altitude and I'll be sure to give you both some extra attention when we arrive." I said as I pulled the doors closed and the large expedition vehicle lurched forward down the muddy dirt road.

"Not a big deal… NOT A BIG DEAL?... how could us being separated from our beloved Darling be not a big deal?!?" Aiva screamed as she stomped her foot into the ground, creating a small grassy crater.

"Humans… they may be adorable and cute, but they just aren't as emotionally attached as we are… my hypothesis is that overtime humans have adapted themselves so that hardwired deep in their subconscious is the urge to close themselves off and distrust the intentions of all others, so they don't overly need to rely on external validation/attention from other humans. This makes it hard for them to initially trust others, but slightly easier to cope when that bond of trust becomes broken… Leading me to believe why our Darling has pushed us away, it's because he does not want to become overly dependent on our company, in case we suddenly disappear from his life… I don't think it's personal, it's just a part of what makes him so adorably human." Athena admitted with a cold and monotone voice as the pair watched the tracked expedition vehicle drive through forest.

"But that's so sad… Darling really thinks that we're going to leave him?" Aiva asked as she watched the vehicle longingly.

"Possibly… it's hard to know for sure as we can only go off his feelings, and how he acts towards us… all we can do in the meantime is show him that our loyalty and faithfulness belong only with him… maybe then will his mind be put at ease, and he will forget any chance of us ever abandoning him." Athena optimistically gleamed while looking skyward at the blue sky and clouds.

"But sister… deep down, do we know if we can truly keep that promise?" Aiva asked as she looked at her twin with all seriousness in her optics.

"...no…… sadly I cannot confirm the certainty of anything that could happen in the future… all we can do is try to keep things in our favour for the time being… Whether that's by showing our loyalty or devotion, we should strive to not do anything that could permanently drive him away from us…" Athena solemnly spoke while looking down the empty dirt road.

"Well then… let's not start the habit of disappointing him today… not now, not ever!" Aiva beamed as she straightened her posture, ignited her thrusters, and launched up high into the air.

"No, I suppose we shouldn't…" Athena muttered with a thought smile while equipping her large wings onto her frame. Then with one powerful flap aimed towards the ground, she took off after her sister at incredible speeds.

"No, I suppose we really shouldn't…"

 ** _A/N: A big_** ** _thank you to all who have been supporting me, along with this story, I'm sorry it took so long to come out with this chapter... honestly it should have been posted 2 months ago, but at the time I really wasn't feeling like editing anything. Also Canadian winters are harsh, like freeze your hands off harsh (which sucks cause I do by best writing when outside)._**

 ** _Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I wanted to make it enjoyable to read while also fine tuning both Aiva and Athena's personalities to be a little less extreme, needless to say I am EXTREMELY happy with how they turned out, and how everything is meshing so far._**

 ** _To conclude if you liked this latest chapter, and this story as a whole, leave a like... or at least follow it, it means more that you know. Also if you could leave a comment telling me how your feeling of this story, or what you want to happen next chapter that would be greatly appreciated._**

 ** _Until next time!_**


	8. Entry: A8

**o0o… 35 minutes later ...o0o**

"Well you girls certainly got here quickly… I hope we didn't keep you waiting for too long." I spoke as I slid the car door open and stepped down onto the barren parking lot that sat on the edge of town.

"Not at all Darling, in fact I believe that allotting you some time alone has proven quite beneficial." Athena proudly proclaimed as Aiva's optics went wide in surprise and she proceeded to punch her sister in the shoulder.

"Umm… okay…" I awkwardly responded as I watched Athena quickly recover her balance and glare at her twin.

"What my glitching twin was trying to say Darling, was that we will always be here for you, in you darkest hour or brightest day… whether you want us near, or you want us far… we will always be at your disposal." Aiva spoke as the rest of the team jumped out of the vehicle.

"That's… good to know?…" I responded in mild confusion as Athena glared at Aiva with a look of annoyance on her faceplate… "Is something wrong? You two are acting a little weirder than usual…" I asked as they both suddenly froze up.

"NO! nothing's wrong Darling… why would you ask that!?" Aiva quickly stammered while trying to maintain her innocence.

"Agreed, there is no need for you to be concerned about us Darling… everything is perfectly normal…" Athena added with a similar demeanour.

"Hmm… alright then… I'm not saying I believe either of you, but if you're not going to tell, then I'm not going to pry… but if whatever this is escalates into something dangerous, then I want you to tell me… got it?" I instructed as I turned back around to get Emmi out of the passenger bench, just barely catching their relieved looks from the corner of my eye.

"It's absolutely incredible that she was able to fall asleep during such a short car ride over." Ana exclaimed as we all gazed inside the cabin to see Emmi curled up fast asleep on the cushioned bench with her tail wrapped tightly around her small frame.

"Well there's no point in leaving her to sleep this late in the day, I'll carry her till she wakes up." I reasoned as I reached around and hoisted her chassis over my shoulder, groaning slightly as I forgot about her deceptively heavy weight.

"Darling, if you wish, I can carry my sparksisters chassis." Athena suggested a neutral tone and expression as she held her arms out.

"No it's alright, I'm fine carrying her… plus I don't know how she would react waking up to someone else carrying her." I explained as she gave me an unimpressed look.

"Yeah fair enough, I guess you two are sorta like sisters after all." I restated as I handed Emmi off to Athena, who easily grabbed hold and cradled the small femme.

"And I'll be responsible for carrying you Darling!" Aiva exclaimed as she suddenly appeared from behind, tossed me up into her open arms and began snuggly wrapping her tentacle like hair antennas around my remaining free limbs.

"I had a feeling you'd pull something like this, glad to hear you're still feeling normal." I commented as I tried wiggling out of her grasp with no success.

"Aiva put me down, we have a lot of stuff to do and not a lot of time to do it, hell winter might even come and freeze everything solid if we don't get on with this chapter." I joked as I stepped out of her tight hold and back onto the hot tarmac that covered the sun lit parking lot.

"I did not know that Earth had such unpredictable seasonal patterns, I will update my database to account for this newfound information." Athena intrigued as I heard a Robbie laugh at her gullibility, I couldn't help but let out a chuckle at how literal she took the comment.

"It was a joke Athena, I was being sarcastic. The seasons don't jump around randomly, they have a specific order… clearly you guys aren't used to our nonsensical Earth humour, you'll get used to it eventually but in the meantime don't take everything we say literally." I chuckled as we all began walking towards town.

"I shall… attempt to remember that..." Athena quietly mumbled as if she was either trying to process what was just told to her, or hide her embarrassment.

"Haha, Darling got you!" Aiva cheered as she dramatically pointed an accusing finger at her sister who stared back with an unimpressed look on her faceplate.

"Just mute it… you would have been tricked just the same, the only difference is that you simply lack the processing power to even compute what's happening around you." She angrily retorted as the pair of femmes began following the rest of us at an astonishing pace.

"You're just jealous that Darlings made me his favourite sparkmate!" Aiva teased with an outstretched tongue that poked just through her smooth polymer lips.

"As if… he clearly views my unit superior to yours!… don't deceive yourself with false hope." Athena retorted as they quickly rejoined the back of our little group as we made our way down the cracked and weathered sidewalk.

"So, have you guys been to this town before?" I spoke, casually changing the subject as we passed yet another block of residential houses.

"Yeah we came here a few months back to get some stuff and help pass the time… but other than that we've been more or less housebound." Robbie explained as we all tried our best to keep in our formation.

"Why's that? You had a vehicle, why didn't you just drive out and have a day out?" I asked.

"It was part of the agreement we signed with Smith, she's the government official who we all report to, and was the one who initially allowed us to use the place as a research facility…. The rules were that I could only bring in people that I could absolutely trust, and that we couldn't leave the area unless it was an absolute emergency." He explained as we rapidly approached a massive concrete wall with even bigger high rise buildings looming on the other side.

"So I'm guessing that what we're doing right now is considered an absolute emergency?" I asked sarcastically as I took note of the convenience stores growing in frequency.

"Oh absolutely, It's a well known fact that every girl despite their species or race needs her own wardrobe to dress up for their special one." Veronica chimed as I felt a pair of smiles through the sparkbond.

"Ah of course… why would I ever think to question this of not being an emergency?" I retorted.

"You wouldn't understand hun, it's a woman thing." She responded with all seriousness.

"If you say so…" I responded with an eye roll. "Also… why does this place have such big walls? And from here it doesn't look like a small town, more like a bustling city."

"Apparently this area has had a history of flooding, so when they designed the foundation they built a wall to make the whole city somewhat independent from any minor natural disasters… and the only reason this place is not considered a major city is because it's size is strictly limited by those walls… I've also heard rumours that this land was once owned by the military, and there still remains some heavy artillery hidden at the tops… but I haven't seen any definitive proof to prove it true." Robbie explained as we got closer to the large open flood gates.

"Based on a scan of this cities foundation and fortifications, I can confirm the existence of heavy artillery for protection against both air and land attacks… in fact, this entire city seems to have built for war purposes." Athena helpfully explained with the enthusiasm of a virtual assistant from the early 2010's.

"Hmm… that's good to know in case a Third World War ever spontaneously breaks out, though it's not very comforting to hear that war is still a possibility in this day in age." Veronica muttered as we passed by a series a large steel gears that were mounted along the walls connecting it to the mechanism that actuated the massive hinged flood gate.

"A space war would be cool though… and now that we know aliens exist who's to say that something like that won't happen?" I voiced as we passed by a few more residential buildings.

"Like Star Wars?" Robbie asked simply.

"Exactly like Star Wars… image flying at warp speed in an X-wing? Or performing life threatening stunts in an imperial tie fighter… that would be cool."

"Hell ya." He concluded as we all stopped outside the entrance to the mega mall that was bustling with all sorts of life inside.

"Alright I think we're going to split off now… text us when your planning on leaving, otherwise we'll plan to meet back here for 4 o'clock." Veronica suggested as we all made a quick check of the current time.

We had about 4 hours to grab lunch and do whatever else we wanted.

"Alright 4 o'clock… I'll see you all then." I agreed as both of our groups split off in opposite directions down the street.

"Darling, I regret to tell you this, but Intergalactic war is not something you should wish for… it brings nothing but death and destruction, killing whatever creature or planet it touches. My spark could not bare it if somehow you got hurt, or worse killed during the events of one." Athena spoke as we neared a large open park area that I was sure would have a map. Emmi herself began stirring as soon as the warm rays of sunlight hit her sleeping faceplate.

"Thanks for your concern, but I was just talking hypothetically… besides I doubt that even if a space war did start, what are the chances of it being anywhere near Earth?" I replied optimistically as we transitioned from the hard concrete sidewalk to the much softer grass rings that encircled a centralized large fountain, making up a large open park with numerous trees planted scattered throughout.

"I'm not to sure on the logistics of such an event ever happening, but if for some reason it does, then know that we will try our very hardest to keep you along with your planet safe from all harm." She concluded quietly as we quickly passed from one grass ring to the next until we found a stand alone city map near the fountain, while trying our best to ignore the variety of stares coming from the humans and Demi's that where out and enjoying their time at the park.

"War is pretty fun though, I guess it all depends on who I'm gunning at." Aiva piped up after being uncharacteristically quiet for the past few minutes.

"Yeah I could see how that would change one's perception on war." I responded as Emmi hopped down from Athena, stumbling and leaning against my leg as she attempted to balance herself.

"Sleep well?" I asked as she nodded adorably with bleary optics.

"That's good… now let's see what's around here…... ah! here we go, there's a clothing store and cafe close by. Let's head there." I spoke as I turned around to gauge the reactions of the girls, only to see in the background Emmi wading her way into fountains collection pool.

"Emmi what are you doing in there?" I asked calmly so as not to scare her and also because to others she appeared to be just a small child doing something innocent.

"Emmi see shiny!" She exclaimed as she pounced into the crystal clear water and pulled out a gold coloured necklace with a large blue gem hanging in the middle.

"That's very shiny, good find Emmi… I wonder who it belongs to." I spoke as she waded back, handed me the jewelry, and proceeded to lean on the fountains concrete edge with her clawed hands. Causing water to run down her arms and stain the concrete.

"It's definitely pretty… I wonder who could have lost it?" I spoke while holding it up to the light.

"Ah there it is! Thank you so much for finding my precious wedding jewel!" A female voice called out causing all of us to turn and see a mature cat woman jogging towards us while carrying a young canary harpy in her fur covered arms.

"Stay back or the child will be disassembled ." Aiva threatened as she stepped forward with her two arm cannons spinning menacingly towards the two. A crowd was beginning to grow as people all around began noticing what was happening.

"Oh my god… it's that alien from the news, STAY AWAY!" The cat woman screamed as she pushed the bright featherer harpy tightly against her chest and turned to protect him.

"Ignore her, she's not going to do anything… RIGHT Aiva?" I spoke as Aiva sighed, put her weapons away, and stepped back in line.

"If you say it's yours then you can have it, I have no use for someone else's wedding jewel… but I want to know just how on earth it got in the fountain? You're son looks a little to young to be flying just yet." I responded as I handed the necklace off to her. She cautiously stepped up and grabbed it, keeping her emerald eyes firmly trained on the automatons behind me until she had the necklace firmly grasped in her paw and was standing at a safe distance a few feet back.

"Believe it or not, he's actually been learning to fly quite recently. He grabbed my necklace off me and flew off before dropping it and falling out of the sky, I barely managed to catch him before he hit the ground, but during that time I had lost track of where my necklace had landed. My husband and I have been searching all over for the past half hour thinking it was either lost or stolen, never to be seen again." She purred as a male feline walked up and clipped the necklace together around his wife's neck.

"Thank you for returning my wife's jewel… it's nothing super expensive but it's special to us." He introduced as he outstretched his paw and I shook it, while being mindful not to drag my wrist away or else I would get cut by his claws.

"No problem, you should be glad that Emmi here is such a treasure hunter and went swimming to grab the shiny thing that was in the fountain." I spoke as Emmi appeared from behind my legs and lower back and the couple smiled warmly. Soon the gaze of the husband drifted towards the other two automatons before he quickly grabbed his wife's hand and pulled her away with a final "well thanks again" before completely leaving.

"Hmm, it seems that you two have a bit of a reputation going against you… Aiva you're going to have to learn to control your temper and impulses, but I am glad that you listened to me and were quick to back down when I told you too." I spoke as I turned around to face them, but not without noticing the numerous amount of oncoming stares coming nearly everyone in the area.

"Yes Darling, I'll try not to kill any civilians." She responded with a devious smile on her faceplate.

"Good… it's time you lear-…." I began lecturing but the presence of several police centaurs walking into view, near the edge of the park caused me to cut my preamble to "Let's leave now." Before I grabbed Emmi's hand and hurried us out of there.

I don't know if that squad was simply on patrol, or if they were here to investigate some 'disturbance', or maybe they had even received a call specifically saying that the aliens from yesterday were here at a local park threatening a mom and her son… needless to say I REALLY didn't want to stick around for the real reason.

 **o0o**

"Good afternoon sir and welcome to 'The Monsters Closet'. The only clothing company that specializes in producing high quality outfits specifically designed to fit Demi's of all shapes and sizes… how may I be of service to you today?" A perky wolf girl bounced forward and enthusiastically greeted as I stepped into the store.

"Hi there, I'm looking to get some clothes in a size double XL and extra small." I explained as she listened intently.

"I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid I'm going to need more than that if I'm to help you find clothing that would fit properly… perhaps if they were to come in store then I could get some measurements to better help with the search… it's all because we cater to so many different species of Demi that we carry such a vast stock, and we would hate to see a customer leave unsatisfied just because we couldn't give her what she needed." She answered professionally.

"Oh don't worry, you'll get all the measurements you need…" I confidently spoke while gesturing over my shoulder. Causing the kobold to tilt her head and ears in a confused manner as she looked behind me.

"Oh for the love of… they were right behind me..." I exhaled as leaned out the door and looked down the street, just in time to see then rapidly approaching.

"Here I am Darling! Did you miss me?" Aiva cheered as I gestured for them to come inside.

"Sorry for the delay Darling, but we had an encounter with a runaway canine… luckily it showed no signs of hostility or else it would have been euthanized." Athena explained as she and Emmi hurried through the door.

"Emmi see fuzzy doggy! Zaza come see!" Emmi added as I motioned that this wasn't the time.

"Wow you two are magnificent, in both height and chest size and… everything else! A real pair of beauties! You both must be around 7 ft tall and easily an E cup." The assistant sang as she approached and examined the two femmes while balancing on the tips of her paws "... and you are simply too adorable for words, I have just the thing that would really compliment your eyes and tail to make you look even cuter." She praised as she kneeled down to Emmi who started shaking nervously.

"So, do you think you can fit them?" I asked as the kobold finally stood back up, leaving Emmi to shuffle and partly hide behind both Aiva and Athena's towering legs.

"Oh most Definitely… it helps a lot that all their proportions are close to a human…. But I'm wondering what species are they exactly? They're unlike any other demi species I've ever seen… Their metallic skin and glowing eyes are a good indication that they might be some kind of robot… Ooh you girls aren't like an alien, or part of some top secret government project right?" She asked wide eyed, with ears pointing to the roof.

"...of course not, why would you guess something like that?" I choked, stunned at how accurate her random guess was, perhaps wondering how much she actually knew… honestly it wouldn't be surprising to find out that she knows more than we do, knowing how fast information gets around the news and social media.

"Aww, I was hoping I was right, that would've been so cool!" She giggled as I stood there wondering if she was being serious, she hadn't heard any of the recent news involving what happened at the SEED election center?... oh well better for us then.

"Now come with me and I'll see what I have in stock for you three lovelies." She smiled as she directed us to follow her.

"I don't like this vixen, she's annoying and keeps looking at you Darling… we should kill her before she seduces you anymore." Aiva puffed as we trailed out of ear shot.

"Relax Aiva that's not going to happen, she's only looking at me because she's helping to get clothes for you three, so stop worrying… not everyone on Earth is after me sexually." I explained as we were lead into a side area containing clothing for humanoid species of all sizes.

"Here we are! Everything that should roughly fit you three is in this area… now sit tight and browse what's here while I measure each one of you... then the fun will start!" She explained as I silently checked her name tag (Willow).

"It's a relief knowing that your here helping out, I don't know squat when it comes to women's clothing and… apparently neither do they." I explained as we watched Emmi take a pair of socks off the rack, and after curiously looking at them she proceeded to slip each of her hands into them. Same went for Aiva and Athena who also grabbed a pair of socks and ended up with them stuck on the ends of their hands and antennas.

"Most men don't, especially when it's there first time shopping with a demi, mind you an inexperienced one at that… don't worry, after a few trips you'll all become experts at this." She explained as we continued to watch the three of them struggling to wear the socks.

"I can tell by the way they look at you that you're something very special to them… which makes you a very lucky man…" Willow spoke, dropping her voice to a low whisper, causing myself to naturally lean in. "You get to choose their lingerie!" She announced louder than expected, causing everyone in the area to look up in shock, then immediately go back to whatever they were doing.

"Men usually like it when there demi partners ask them for to do such a thing, it's a sign that they like and trust you enough to wear whatever you want to make you happy… plus it's very cute to watch the guys get all flustered over the question." She smirked as I stood there stunned.

"I'm only teasing…… But in all seriousness, what were you thinking when concerning their outfits. Personally I think a few exterior items like skirts, shirts, and sweaters would suit them best." Willow suggested as she reached deep into her apron pocket and pulled out a measuring tape and a notebook.

"That makes sense, considering that they don't need any base clothing when they go outside…" I agreed as she stared at Aiva and Athena with a hand on her chin.

"Exactly! no bras or panties!… it's like a girls dream…" She drooled as I watched her cautiously.

"What?" She asked innocently.

"Nevermind, oh and we'll also have to keep in mind Emmi's tail… perhaps something stretchy because it does change size and might end up ripping the fabric if it's too stiff." I brought up as she chewed on the end of her pen.

"Fascinating… I'll definitely be sure to get her something flexible and loose fitting." Willow declared as we noticed that they were staring at us with big curious optics.

"Hmm, I think that work nicely…" I agreed as I turned back towards the group of femmes. "You girls ready to be measured?" I asked as they nodded in response, albeit some more enthusiastically than others.

"Great, Emmi you're up first, listen to the nice wolf lady and do as she tells you… I'll be right here if you need me." I instructed as she hesitantly crawled over to Willow who was now standing by a measuring platform with 3 full body mirrors angled along the back.

"Darling, do you know how to operate this infernal contraption?... I feel as if I'm using it incorrectly!" Athena questioned, drawing my attention away from Willow who was vigorously measuring every inch of Emmi's frame and quickly jotting it all down in a well used notebook that she kept in her apron pocket.

"Uh, that's a bra… I'm not exactly sure how to use it, being a guy and all… but I can promise you that's not how you wear it." I responded as I found that her hands and antennae were tangled together in a mess of tightly knotted bra straps. Her faceplate had her usual expressionless look but with a slight bit of embarrassment as I inspected the tangled mess of cloth and femme.

"I'm honestly impressed that you were able to trap yourself like this." I laughed as I began freeing her from her lingerie bonds, being extra mindful to not damage the piece of clothing as I undid the impossibly tight knots.

"Darling… I need your help too!" Aiva boldly declared as I finally managed to untie the last knot on Athena's bonds.

"Sorry Aiva, I'll help you in a second." I explained as I unwound it from around her hands and removed it entirely.

"Thank you Darling, I don't know what I would do without you!" Athena swooned as I placed the bra back on the rack, only to unexpectedly get grabbed by the cheeks and lightly kissed on the forehead.

"Yeah… what would you ever do without me?" I sarcastically repeated when I remembered that they could easily tear steel in two and punch through concrete… but who knows, maybe small pink bras are their weakness?

"Now Aiva, what's the problem?" I asked as she innocently held out her hands and antennas all bound together by a very familiar pink bra.

"You too?... I guess you two are more alike than I originally thought." I pondered as I noticed that the knots were exactly like the ones I had JUST untied.

"There, all done… just in the future, stay away from anything with strings, please." I spoke as I removed the final knots and placed it back on the rack, beside the previous one. And similarly to before I was grabbed and kissed once I had turned back from the rack, only this time it wasn't in a gentle manner like Athena's, rather a more dominating one as she used both arms along with her pair of tentacle antennas to keep me firmly pressed against her frame while she proceeded to give a long and rather aggressive French kiss. I can only imagine how lewd it all looked from an outsider's perspective.

"Zaza! Emmi's all done!" I heard Emmi cheer as I felt her small chassis latch onto the back of my legs, nearly knocking me over.

"See, that wasn't too bad?" I asked as I reached back and rubbed her head, which was planted against my thigh.

"Athena, you're up for measuring." I said as I watched her nod in acknowledgement and begin marching over to the measuring booth with the usual rhythm in her strides.

"Hey Emmi, what do you think of this?" I asked as I pulled an extra small black hoodie with pink stitching off the rack. "This should fit you well enough." I spoke while checking the label.

"Lift your arms up." I instructed as she reached up while squeezing her optics as tight as she could, I needed a moment to get over the adorable sight in front of me, then I slipped the bottom part over her head and slid her arms through the sleeves. I had to be extra mindful not to catch and cut the fabric on her sharp claws as I did this.

Aiva meanwhile was carefully observing what we were doing, most likely learning how to put a sweater on herself.

"Aw that looks adorable on you, what do you think?" I asked as I directed Emmi towards a mirror. Despite it being an extra small, the hoodie was still quite baggy and loose fitting on her, especially around the chest and sleeves that were several inches too long and hid her hands completely from view.

"Does Zaza like Emmi in this?" She asked as she gazed at the mirror and held her hand ups, watching as the sleeves loose ends flopped towards the ground.

"I think it's cute, but I won't force you to wear it if you don't want to."

"If Zaza likes Emmi in this, then Emmi likes her too!" She exclaimed as she excitedly waved her arms around, causing the loose fabric to swing to her movements.

"So cute..." I choked as I noticed Aiva passively reviewing a sweater that looked to big for her.

"Try it on if you like." I suggested as she slipped her head and arms through their appropriate holes, ending finally with her pulling her pair of long tentacle antennas out of the body of the sweatshirt so they dangle freely from the sides of her helm.

"That looks good on you, but it seems a little tight in the arms and… chest." I explained as I felt a slight buzz in my pocket. Leaving Aiva to silently remove the sweatshirt as my attention had now left her.

Pulling out my phone, I found that I had received a few lengthy texts from my mother, which when summarized asked if I was doing alright.

After typing up a response that read; _"Yes mom, I'm fine… last night went well, we all slept like the dead and they all behaved themselves. Right now I'm in town getting them some clothes and doing a bit extra shopping."_ I hit send, and focused my attention back on Aiva.

"What do you think of this one Darling?" Aiva asked while holding up a second sweater that was mainly black in colour, but had a large heart shape in the middle that looked like it was dripping red blood.

"I think it suits you… but whether it fits or not is a better question." I asked as she looked at it, wondering the same thing. Just as she began pulling it over her head, I felt another series of vibrations come from my pocket. You know for an arachnid with such sharp fingers, my mother is an incredibly fast typer, even though it is murder on her tablets screen protector.

 _"That's good to hear that it went well last night, happy to know my baby boy is still safe, but that doesn't mean I'm trusting those robot girls just yet, I'll have to judge them when I see them… I also see from the looks of things that your at 'the monsters closet'... that's no place for a young boy like you to be shopping."_ Her message read out as I stared at my screen a little closer in disbelief. From here I could almost feel her smugness.

 _"Wait, What? how did you know where I am?"_ I instantly replied, curious to how she knew my EXACT location.

"Daaarling, do you like me in this one?" Aiva asked as she twirled from side to side with her arms and antennas raised at her sides.

"It looks good on you, fits you well… almost a little too well." I rambled as I noticed that there was another one, just like it, lying behind her on one of the shelves… from what I've seen, each piece of clothing at these stores are unique, making it nothing else but a miracle if what you chose fit perfectly before being altered… so what are the odds that Aiva finds a sweater that fits her perfectly, while there being an identical one right behind her.

 _"Oh you should know by now dear, a mother always knows exactly where her babies are, and what they are up to."_ She replied ominously, to the point where I could almost feel her sinister smile on the other end.

 _"No seriously, how did you know where I am? I'm positive you can't be tracking my phone… and apart from that I can't see any other way that you'd be able to find location."_ I wrote back, and slid the phone back into my pocket. Now subconsciously wondering if she actually was tracking my phone's location.

"My chassis dimensions have been measured and recorded Darling." Athena informed as she and Willow rejoined us, Willow seemingly out of breath.

"She's a lot bigger than she seems." She exhaled before I could even ask why. Then she motioned with a quick wrist for Aiva to join her, who oddly enough wasn't wearing the bleeding heart sweater anymore, which would have definitely been noticeable if she had taken it off, especially in front of me. And what's more the folded sweater of the same design looked like it hadn't been moved… not even slightly.

As Aiva obediently followed Willow to the measuring booth, I wondered what was going on with that sweater… maybe it was just the paranoia of my phone being tracked that was getting to me… but I swear that sweater looked to fitted to be fitted.

 _"Well if you must know how, I saw you and your little trio of robot girls on the news. Entering a clothing store, the name of which was blurred out, but I knew from the design of the displays what it really was."_ She explained as I spun around quickly to find a nearby tv screen, but instead I managed to get a full glimpse of the crowds of news reporters outside through the window.

There even was that same smartly dressed lamia reporter from before, reporting outside and being live broadcasted onto a large flat screen tv that was against the wall. Alongside the reporter was some aerial drone footage of the store and the crowds that surrounded the entrance and a good section of the street, while a string of text scrolled along the bottom of the screen, which read; (In recent news, the pair of aliens that mysteriously disappeared yesterday after antagonizing those attending the SEED election convention, have reappeared by eye witness accounts, in the city of fortitude, following what many are describing as a young, white human male along with a much smaller one of these aliens… People are urged to avoid contact with these creatures until police and government officials deem them safe for public interaction).

"Would you look at that… they've made headlines again, all in their second day here. It must have been someone from that fountain courtyard that reported us there…… at least I can stop worrying about the possibility of my phone being tracked, so that's a relief." My mind mindlessly raced while I continued blankly watching the tv.

A small tug on my pant legs brought me back to reality as I was greeted by Emmi who was showing me a lovely red hair clip that was shaped like a flower.

"That's very pretty, would you like help putting it on?" I asked as she looked confused by the question.

"It's a hair clip, it clips to your hair and makes you look pretty." I explained as I showed her the claw mechanism.

"Nooo." She whined as she pushed the flower clip away in my hand.

"Do you trust me?" I asked calmly causing her to lean into my other hand.

"Emmi trusts Zaza." She answered softly.

"And would I ever make you do something that would hurt you?" I asked and she shook her head 'no' in response.

"So hold still…" I instructed as I clipped it to a large section of her white hair that was off to the side, while trying to ignore her quivering lips and fearful look in her optics.

"There, all done. That wasn't so bad, now was it?" I asked as she shook her head again.

"Go see how pretty you look." I instructed while I directed her towards a mirror, and let me tell you the look of pure joy on Emmi's faceplate upon seeing the red flower in her hair, is something you couldn't put a price on.

"I'm back Darling! Did you miss me?" Aiva cheered as both she and Willow rejoined us. I smiled as I kept a firm grip on Emmi's hand as she continued inspecting her new flower accessory.

"Alright, I'm all done… I got all their measurements set and I'm ready to start fitting them." Willow concluded as she panted slightly, while Aiva joined Athena behind a rack that held a variety of shirts, sweaters, and other tops.

"That's great, I hope they weren't much of an issue." I asked as Willow put a paw to her chin, and I felt the piercing worried stares of the femmes around me.

"They were actually very well behaved, even though it was a bit odd that they all stood without talking or moving… at least it made my job easier." She clarified as I felt through the bond that Aiva was angry towards Willow, Emmi was still happy about her new accessory, and Athena had no discernible emotions at all.

"Okay, so public restraint is good, but social skills could use a little work… all in all I'm happy with how it all turned out, I mean at least no one got killed." I concluded as relief filled the bond and Willow chuckled nervously.

"Oh also Willow, I noticed that there is a crowd of people outside, do you think maybe we could keep them out of the store? I really don't want anyone, or anything getting hurt or damaged." I explained as she took her turn to glance out the window to see the large crowd of news reporters, film crews, police, and other random passerby, all of which were a seemingly random selection of humans and demi humans of both genders.

"Of course, we've had our fair share of celebrities in our stores and we fully respect the need for some privacy. That's why it's basic protocol across all of our locations to lock the building if ever crowds gather outside the premises…" Willow explained as she wound her measuring tape around her furry paw before returning it back to its designated pocket on the front of her designer apron.

"Okay, that's a relief…"

"Yup, another thing that makes this company so great!... anyway I'm going to try and fit the little one first, because she's small and easy to work with, and I also really want to see what she would look like all dressed up. That being said I'll need the two of you to follow me." She explained to both Emmi and I as she checked the computer for where and what clothing options would perfectly fit her chassis based on the measurements imputed.

"Sure, lead on." I voiced as I took ahold of Emmi's little clawed hand and began trailing after Willow. "Oh and you two, stay here and stay out of trouble. I'll be back in a little bit and in the meantime I want you both to look around and see if there's anything you like." I instructed to Aiva and Athena who each nodded in acknowledgement before they went back to silently gesturing at each other while they selected a variety of sweaters off the racks around them.

With Willow leading the pack I began to wonder if it was indeed the best choice to leave them alone and unsupervised. But in fairness this could be seen as a training exercise to see if they're trustworthy enough to be left alone and not hurt anyone, or destroy anything. I'm praying that nothing eventful happens so that I can feel confident having them by my side when delicate situations arise.

We arrived in one of the back rooms that was full of towering storage racks full of boxes of clothing specifically tailored to fit small bipedal Demi's. There she motioned for us to sit on a bench that faced toward another measuring booth platform while Willow ran from isle to isle grabbing what she needed.

"Okay here, put these on her… they should fit perfectly, or at the very least only need one or two minor alterations." Willow explained as I tried putting a few different shirts on Emmi, but after her refusal on the third one presented, I gave up trying.

"Oh, hang on! I just forgot that I need to grab the skirts from another department… be back in a sec." Willow perked up as she ran out of the room.

"So… if you don't like t-shirts, or pants, or any kind of underwear… what do you like?" I asked in defeat as she continued refusing the things I was showing her.

"Emmi like this!" She exclaimed while holding up the black and pink sweater from before.

"This…" I repeated.

"Yes!"

"Well at least you know what you like, but you're seriously telling me you'd prefer a regular, loose fitting hoodie over everything else here?" I asked as she hugged the sweater close to her chest while nodding quietly.

"Alright, if that's what you like… it is a shame though that you don't want anything tailored. But there's no point in buying you something that you won't wear." I ended in defeat as I sat down beside her while glancing at all the rejected choices.

"But if there is one thing that I would like you to wear is something to compliment your bottom half, Willow's bringing in a few skirts that'll fit pretty comfortably around your legs and tail… so I want you to at least try them on and see what you think." I explained while running my hand down the length of her hair.

Then, as if on cue, Willow came barreling back into the storage room, panting slightly with arms full of skirts as she skidded to a stop on the slick concrete floor.

"This is our latest model of skirts in our reptilian fashion line, as you can see the hole along the back uses our patented active adjusting fabric, which has many tiny magnets woven into the fabric allowing the opening to expand and conform perfectly around the tail of any Demi that wears it, this should no doubt be useful since you said that her tail is prone to changing size." She explained as she placed 2 identical black skirts in front of us.

"Emmi, look at this… stylish, loose fitting, and it even reshapes itself to comfortably fit around your tail, I think this is going to work nicely for you." I exclaimed as we each grabbed a pair and molded the fabric in our hands.

Then without hesitation she stood up, stuck her tail though the hole, and began sliding it down the length of her tail.

"Uhh… close…" I stammered as Willow seemed nonetheless phased by this.

"Here, let me help you." Willow offered as she reached forward to help fix the wardrobe mishap, but instead was met with a series of deep and threatening growls along with the barring of her sharp jagged teeth. All of which was able to cause Willow, a biological Wolf demi, to jump back in a mix of surprise and shock.

"Emmi, stop it." I ordered as placed a hand over the top of her faceplate, obscuring her vision while making her stop and coo in confusion. "Willow's only trying to help and I wont tolerate this behaviour for you, if you keep this up I won't bring you with me anymore." I continued as Willow successfully managed to slip the skirt off her tail without disturbing her.

"Just keep calm while we put it on you the right way." I soothingly added as I motioned for willow to put the skirt on the floor while I picked Emmi up and lowered her legs into the center of the waist. Then Willow yanked it up, slipped her tail through it's opening, then quickly took a huge step back before Emmi could act up anymore.

"There, all done… tell me what you think of it." I directed as I removed my hand from covering her optics, allowing her to look down and inspect her waist. After twirling back and forth and gently playing with the magnetic opening.

"Emmi likes it! Emmi likes it a lot!" She smiled while bouncing up and down, making the skirt mimic her movements.

"Are these both in the same size?" I asked Willow wondering if I should get 2 just in case.

"Yup, the only difference is that this second one is slightly warmer, being made of a denser material… supposedly for use during the colder transition seasons." She explained while I thumbed the material of the second unused one.

"Good, I'll take both pairs." I concluded by grabbing the second skirt and walking back through the wide and spacious isles to the twin femmes who were waiting patiently for our return, in outfits that (I'm assuming) they chose for themselves.

They each were wearing near identical outfits, consisting of loose fitting sweaters and short mini skirts, with the only difference being the primary colours on the sweaters bleeding heart design was painted red for the one Aiva was wearing, and blue for Athena's.

"What do you think of our outfits Darling? We picked them just for you." Aiva swooned as she spun in place and landed in a pose with her arms raised up high, while Athena simply choose to raise her arms like her sister, keeping her beautiful faceplate in her usual blank expression.

"I like them, they look good on both of you… but how did you both find clothes that fit, let alone matching outfits?"

"It was simple Darling, all we had to do was scan the overall design and import it into our protoform database… from there we altered the design and dimensions so that each piece would fit our frames, with everything scanned we are free to equip any of the selections at any given time. During your time absent we scanned and saved over 100 pieces of clothing along with 20 outfit presets." Athena informed as I listened in mild annoyance mixed with curious interest.

"Girls… that's stealing, I don't mind buying what you want, but you just can't go around taking what you want, when you want." I began to explain but then Willow stepped in.

"Actually, here at the monsters den we have a policy for that… since your not actually taking any of our products, there's no reason to charge for it. This was put in place when we noticed many chameleon girls who would come in, clone what they want, then leave… we get free public advertising, without losing any stock, and all while receiving great customer satisfaction!" Willow explained as I noticed a large stack of neatly folded clothes on the rack, presumably the aftermath of all the designs they copied.

"Still though, I feel like I should pay something for all this." I gestured vaguely towards the twin femmes.

"As long as the original stays in stores, you don't have to pay a cent."

"Alright then… I guess we're ready for checkout." I explained as Willow turned to the nearest computer and began typing up the final receipt.

"Excellent, so the final price will be $422.37 including tax. That's for the two skirts, the sweater, the flower hair clip, along with the $50 measuring fee." Willow read aloud.

"Wow that's pretty pricey for only a few items, but what was I expecting considering I'm buying Demi specific clothing from a premium brand… I guess I should be grateful that I'm only buying clothes for one instead of all three." I spoke as I pulled out my wallet and began paying the rather expansive total. I then asked Willow where the rear exit was, and after receiving a few simple directions we said our farewells and left the store without alerting the press, cops, or anyone else in the crowd.

We walked through a series of quiet side streets until we were a safe distance away from the crowds. After checking a nearby map kiosk we cut back onto the Main Street which lead into a large open marketplace that sold nearly everything from clothes to food and anything in between. In particular there was a lunch cafe that I had read great reviews about and wanted to try.

The sidewalks were full of many passerby's either shouting and pointing accusing fingers at us as they hurried by, or those who completely avoided us by either crossing the street or hiding in nearby alleyways. Luckily it seemed that since I wasn't getting worked up by the situation, neither were the girls, as they marched in silence seemingly in their own little worlds… I couldn't tell what exactly they were all thinking, but through the bond I could tell it was something that at least made them happy.

We finally made it to the entrance of the market, and immediately something caught my eye. There at the end of a short alleyway, propped up next to a wall, sat a beautiful red Ducati sport bike with custom finishes, rims, and exhaust.

The girls hummed disapprovingly as I left the group to get a better view of the bike with Aiva trailing close behind.

"Wow, this is such a pretty bike… reminds me that I've always wanted to own a motorcycle, but never got the chance." I spoke while crouched over and admiring it closely

"Darling, as your wife you should know you're not allowed to go around admiring other woman like that… maybe I should destroy this vehicle to prove that your love and attention should belong only to us." Aiva spoke while standing ominously behind me, her presence casting a shadow over everything around me.

"Oh come on, it's not that big of a deal…" I argued as she picked me up and carried me over her shoulder, bringing me back to the others, with her arms and antennas wrapped around my limbs and covering my mouth, preventing me from moving or speaking.

When she put me back on the ground it became clear by their looks, that they were not happy with me.

"You should know by now Darling that we are very protective over you and we will not tolerate you flirting with any females but us." Athena sternly spoke as Aiva forced me to stand there firmly pressed up against her frame.

"Sisters right, Zaza only look at Emmi and Emmi's sisters! No one else!..." Emmi huffed as she thumped her tail against the concrete and puffed her cheeks out at me like a blowfish.

"Alright alright, I get it… if this is important to you girls then I promise I won't do it anymore." I admitted as I tried to put my hands up in defeat, but quickly found they were being held in place by Aiva.

"Promise?..." They all asked in unison.

"Yes of course, I'll try my best to keep you three happy… even if that means not looking at the pretty motorcycle anymore." I repeated as they all relaxed, both visually and emotionally.

"But just to be sure, I'll still destroy this vehicle to eliminate any risk of it seducing you again." Aiva threatened as she turned and glared at the bike menacingly, while the other femmes watched with silent approval.

"NO… I mean it's someone's bike and I would hate for them to come back and find it all destroyed, let's just forget about it." I yelled as I rushed us all further into the marketplace and away from the 'evil' sport bike.

We had only walked a few feet down the street when suddenly the red Ducati roared to life and drove past us, being ridden by a very attractive woman wearing a full skin tight tracksuit and tinted helmet. Her presence attracted the gaze of me along with every other guy on the street corner. Needless to say, the girls were not happy to see me staring at that bike again, though oddly enough they didn't mention anything about the woman riding the bike.

It probably took me another 5-10 minutes to calm them down after that AND to convince Aiva not to fly ahead and gun down that lady. Aiva also suggested permanently encasing herself around me so she could monitor and control what I was allowed to look at… another notion I had to kindly decline.

Eventually we happened upon an old style arcade lounge, I wanted to cheer up the girls and help them forget about what happened with the motorcycle, so I decided to go in and let them try a few games. I had to rule out foosball, table hockey, along with many other games as I really didn't want anyone getting hit by projectiles flying with the same speed and force as a low caliber bullet. After some thorough examination I decided that maybe it wasn't the best course of action to take our group in there, especially since it was fairly busy inside. So instead I slotted a few coins into the 'test your strength' punching machine that was located on the street, just in front of the lounges entrance.

I figured it was a smart choice considering it had etched on the side that it was Minotaur rated for about 50 tons of force, well over half of what some of the strongest Demi's can do, along with the whole machine being bolted into the ground and wall behind it…. It was something I was sure couldn't be broken, not even by their immense automaton strength.

I was so fucking wrong.

After setting the machine up I demonstrated what to do by giving a swing at the hanging bag and getting a score of 100lbs. I loaded in a few more coins and let Emmi have a go, she hobbled forward and lightly bopped the bag with open palms, scoring a measly… 1500?... I then did the same for Athena who scored 25 103 lbs of force exerted on the bag… and that's when I made a huge mistake. I loaded in a final $1.25 and let Aiva have her try.

She stepped forward and reeled her arm back, then with a clenched first she punched the machine with such force that not only did sound like a thunder clap just went off, but it also was enough to rip the machine out of the wall, with a huge chunk of concrete stuck on the end of the massive bolts. It flew head over heels through the air, where it almost hit a couple out for a walk, nearly a block away.

"There, what do you think Darling? Are you impressed!" Aiva proudly announced as I stood there staring awestruck between Aiva and the impact zone. Athena meanwhile was none to impressed as she lay an open palm against her faceplate.

I rushed over to the couple who strangely enough were acting surprising calm.

"Are you two alright? I'm so sorry about this..." I started but the man put his hand up.

"Don't worry about it, no one was hurt. And besides it'll take way more than a flying arcade machine to kill me." He laughed as I glanced at his partner to ensure she was feeling the same.

The man looked to be around my age, perhaps slightly older by only a few years. He along with the centaur appeared Japanese by their clothing and accent.

"Indeed milord, you have survived much worse… though it would be a shame for this to be how it all ends." The centaur laughed with the tone of a battle ready warrior.

"Say, you two aren't from around here, are you?" I asked instinctively only realizing afterwards that it was kind of rude to say this early on.

"Us? No we're visiting from Japan, flew in about a week ago, were here on… business purposes." He explained as my group of girls walked up and stood behind me. Causing the centaur to step back and begin to draw her sword that was dangling by her hip.

"Watch out millord, those are the ones who nearly killed one of my kind during the SEED election, they must be after me." She spoke as she pushed the man behind her.

"Caution, armed hostile detected." Athena alerted as I felt a number of arms, antennas and tail wrap around and pull me back.

"Surrender now or your life will be terminated." Aiva added while leaning forward and transforming her right arm into her energy weapon, that of which she leaned aggressively into with crosshairs having appeared in her optics.

"Woah woah woah, let's not do this… miss centaur just put the sword away… please, it's not worth it." I pleaded as she looked skeptically towards Emmi and Athena who were providing cover in front while Aiva acted as the forward attack.

"Very well then… I have no reason to strike unless they do." She admitted reluctantly as she slid her sword back into its sheath. Allowing the girls to back off slightly.

"I'm sorry about that, they can be a little… over protective, something that I'm trying to train down to a manageable level." I explained and the man nodded in agreement.

"I completely get it, I had the same issue a few years back when I volunteered for a home stay program that sanctuary to newly formed Demi's that had been outcasted by their families… that's how I met Centorea, along with a few other Demi's that I'm still with today. Don't worry you'll get a handle on all of it eventually… by the way I'm kimihito." He explained while shuffling the numerous amounts of bag onto one arm, which he extended outwards.

I had to do an awkward shuffle to get out of Emmi's tail and Athena's antenna before I could reach forward and introduce myself.

"I'm Zack."

"Zack huh, that sounds like a sci-fi name… kind of fitting considering you have a group of space robots with you." Kimihito pondered as Centorea grabbed his hand and subtly gestured towards the sky.

"Oh I'm so sorry to cut this short, but I really have to go and catch someone… maybe we'll see you around." He concluded as he hoisted himself up onto her and they galloped off in the direction of what looked to be a small blue harpy struggling to carry a lamia, way off in the distance.

"PAAAPI COME BACK!" I heard him yell along with the iconic sound of hoofs clomping as they rushed down the busy market rode and out into the rest of the town.

'Odd little group, but at least they seemed to get along well together. I wonder what sort of business they're here to make them come halfway across the globe?' I thought to myself but was interrupted by my stomach growling something fierce.

"Let's get out of here before a crowd forms and we get even more unwanted attention." I suggested as I pointed towards the crumbled up and busted arcade machine then gestured at the nearby alley way, signalling that I wanted it picked up and moved out of sight.

After the machine was discreetly hidden away, we criss crossed through a few quiet side streets which were laced with a variety of vendors, all of which looked very bored by their lack of business. Eventually we came to a small intersection where sat the cafe.

After entering and joining the nonexistent line, I was glad to find that the establishment was fairly empty, with only a few people scattered among the room all minding their own business. But honestly, what was I expecting seeing it was almost 2 hours past the lunch rush.

The place was large and spacious, with tall rope covered ceilings, wide and accommodating seating arrangements, and lastly a sealed off area right behind the counter that was filled with water so that the aquatic staff could navigate to and from their stations with ease. State of the art water filtration systems were also installed along the tiled pool walls, ensuring that the water along with its swimmers remained sterile for the work environment. All in all the whole place was humid and felt like being in the tropics.

"Hi there! What can I get for you all today?" A ruby tinted mermaid smiled as she elegantly swam up to the counters edge, being careful not to make a splash on the cash register or glass viewing panels.

"Uh, hi…" I awkwardly responded like usual when I first enter a place without actually having a clue with what I'll be ordering, I took it by the way each of the girls were staring at the menu that they too had absolutely no idea on what they were getting either… or perhaps it was that they had no idea what exactly they were looking at.

Regardless of what actually was confusing them, I decided that it would be best If I did the ordering for all of us.

After telling the mermaid my order consisting of a variety of sandwiches, pastries, and drinks that of which she happily typed up into the tablet mounted inside the countertop. I paid and we went and sat down at an available table opposite to where the other patrons were. Waiting for our order to be called.

"Darling you naughty human, I saw you staring at that organic females chest… if you wanted to see a nice pair of tanks, all you had to do was ask!… after all, I'm always happy to let you play with me your sparks content." Aiva loudly announced as we got settled in our seats. Drawing a series of quick and rather distasteful glances from those seated around us.

"Aiva please, don't say stuff like that out in public, or at the very least don't say it so damn loud." I laughed while shaking head, trying to ignore the others who were most likely talking about us now.

"Darling is right sister, your urge to speak whatever is on your processor will inevitably get us all in trouble, so you must learn to mute yourself whenever you feel the desire to vocalize." Athena sternly interjected causing a whole new argument to start between the two twin femmes that I was determined not to get involved in unless absolutely necessary.

As the two bickered and argued, occasionally equipping there weapons and waving them around sporadically, followed by them pointing towards me with open hands, most likely gesturing for me to do something.

Instead I chose to sit peacefully on the bench, rubbing Emmi's head as she leaned up beside me, while I curiously watched a lady who sat across the room.

She had long black hair, a short black skirt, and tight fitting black sweater with an equally black overcoat sitting overtop, along with a pair of blacked out sunglasses. From what little I had to base my decision on, I guessed that she was Japanese and around her mid 30's.

And unlike the other people who were trying to watch inconspicuously as they pretended to be 'occupied' by their food, phone or present company. This lady was blatantly watching.

She had her whole body turned in her seat towards us, where she sat crossed legged with her phone propped up against her purse, most likely recording everything that was happening in front of her. She had her glasses tilted onto the bridge of her nose and she held a large porcelain mug of steaming coffee, that of which she periodically took a sip from, briefly covering up her smug grin.

"Girls, calm it down a bit… we're being recorded." I whispered, causing the pair to stop mid word and turn curiously towards me. Emmi in turn got startled and curled her tail tightly around her body while pushing her faceplate into the side of my ribs.

"Just relax until our food comes and we can get out of here." I exhaled as if on cue, a spider lady came out of the kitchen from an entrance only accessible near the roof. She walked on the ceiling towards us with a large metal tray hanging from a strand of silk carefully wrapped around the palm of her hand.

"Enjoy my dears." She hummed while lowering our meal onto the table before returning back the way she came.

"Now that's cool, I think that's the first time ever experiencing service like that… kind of reminds me of a restaurant I've always wanted to go to, it's an all underwater establishment for those who want to eat in a coral reef, sadly it's only for those who can breath underwater. My sister keeps going on about how amazing it is, and I can't tell you how jealous I am about it." I spoke as I distributed the food and drinks.

"Jealous…" The twins repeated as they each did their own thing, Aiva nibbled on the sandwich I gave to her while Athena played around with a glass of water set before her. Freezing then boiling the contents over and over again as she held the glass with one hand.

"Ah well, don't worry about. I'll get it done eventually, at least once before I die." I shrugged as the two of them, in unison, scowled at what I had said.

We were about 5 - 10 minutes into our meal and that lady was still watching and recording our every actions while obnoxiously sipping her drink. I tried my best to ignore, but I'm happy that the girls forgot about her… or perhaps they're just really good at stealthful surveillance.

I continued feeding Emmi pieces of my sandwich, while being mindful that she was a bottomless pit that would eat everything that I gave her. I simply had to remember I couldn't give her everything I had.

Eventually I finished my rather large sandwich with the help of Emmi eating maybe half of it all. Athena meanwhile boldly tilted the glass to her polymer lips and took a tiny sip of the water inside, squinting slightly as she no doubt was analyzing the 'peculiar' liquid in her mouth. Eventually she lifted the glass back up and took yet another sip, this time taking in a small piece of ice which she crunched curiously.

And finally Aiva sat there, intently watching me who was watching her sister crunch on ice. I noticed her staring and I turned to her.

"Enjoy your sandwich?" I asked with a smile before glancing at her plate, seeing that it was only partly eaten. "I guess not, oh well it's not for everybody."

"N-no Darling, it was very tasty, I just thought that since I don't actually need food sustain me, along with the possibility that you could still be hungry so… I saved you some…" Aiva bashfully admitted as she looked down at her plate. A small giggle was heard from where the Japanese lady was sitting.

"Oh… thank you Aiva! That's really nice of you." I praised as I leaned over the table, reaching for the plate.

"Not so fast Darling." She spoke snatching the sandwich away. "I want to feed you myself." She smirked with outstretched arms.

"Uh… okay…" I mumbled wondering how good of an idea this was.

"Open wide Darling!" She hummed excitedly while leaning forward and bringing the meal right before me.

I did as told, opening up and preparing to bite. I Instinctively winced back when I realized the high possibility of her accidentally jamming the whole thing down my throat.

I felt the bread against my tongue and I bit off a reasonable sized piece.

"Hmm thank you…" I managed to get out as I chewed with a mouthful of food. "I like this one, the sauces and meats taste good together."

"Do you want another bite?" She asked shyly while still holding the sandwich with extended arms.

"Uh… sure, why not?" I replied hesitantly causing her to smile and for us to repeat the process. Including the part where I thought she was going to choke me by cramming it down my throat. Thankfully she didn't.

It was at this point where that suspicious lady hummed in contentment and packed her phone and belongs into her purse, she then left the cafe and walked by one of the large windows that looked out onto the street. Passing a very familiar red sport bike parked against the curb with the headlights facing the window.

"Do you want another one Darling?" Aiva asked bringing me back to reality.

"No thanks, I think I'm good for now, how about we try a few pastries." I suggested while passing them out from the main plate.

"Athena do you want to try one? I promise it's good." I offered as there remained only one left on the plate.

"Umm…" She hummed anxiously while shifting her gaze between the pastry, myself, and her sisters who were each enjoying their own danishes to the full.

"...Okay Darling." She said with a weak smile and failing confidence "… I'll try one."

"You can stop eating whenever you want to." I suggested as I placed the plate in front of her and watched as she cautiously picked it up and bit into it. Causing some yellow goo to stick her lips and tiny bits of pastry to flake onto her black and blue hoodie.

"I-I think I'm done now…" She whimpered with quivering lips, returning the desert back to the plate while timidly brushing off her sweater of all crumbs and dirt.

"At least you gave it a try…" I spoke optimistically. She responded with a sad and defeated smile.

What followed during the next 10 minutes involved us all eating with some casual banter in between, minus Athena who went back to silently sampling her glass of water sip by sip. We finished and I piled our used dishes back onto the tray to be returned and washed in the kitchen.

We then left the building following the same path as that lady before us, proceeding onto the sidewalk where we were being approached by the motorcycle lady, presumably the owner of the Ducati behind us.

"Well well, I see we meet again." She introduced while still in her full skintight suit and helmet which had a dark tinted visor, resulting in her face and all skin being completely hidden from view. The suit however left very little to imagination as she leaned her weight onto one leg and rested the oil container partly against her hip.

"Just a coincidence." I replied calmly, trying to keep the situation from escalating into anything major.

"Maybe it is, maybe it isn't…" She teased as she sauntered past us on the streets edge towards her bike and began opening up the bikes valves.

"I just have to say, I really like your bike." I turned and blurted out just as we were all about to walk away.

"Thanks Honey, I like you too!" She replied sweetly while pouring the jug into the engine…. I did find it interesting however that she poured in the whole container, usually sport bikes can only hold 1 or 2 litres of oil, yet she seemed to be emptying an entire container into the engine.

"Uh… that's a lot of oil your using…"

"A girl's gotta stay hydrated, and riding around in the hot sun, at an idle of 5000 rpm just makes one soo~ thirsty." She said with a sultry tone as she leaned forward, pressing her breasts up against the handlebars and tiny front windscreen.

"Say Honey, you wouldn't mind coming for a ride with me would you? I don't know my way around here, maybe you could help me with that." She called out just as we were about to leave.

"No thanks, I err… we already have plans."

"Are you sure? You could leave your little friends here for the time being… I think it's only fair that I finally get my time with you." She pouted as I made a quick glance back to see the girls looking at her with annoyed yet understanding expression.

"Thanks but as my Darling just explained, he's already taken." Aiva chimed in, holding me by the shoulders and waist and quickly moving both of us away, Emmi and Athena were also quick to follow behind.

From behind I heard the engines startup sound followed by the squealing of tires as the girl drove away. The engines roar echoing off the buildings and streets.

"Did you girls know her?" I asked once we were a few blocks away from the cafe.

"Of course not Darling, why would you ask?" Athena answered immediately after I posed the initial question.

"Oh just the way you three were acting around her, made it seem like you knew her from somewhere."

"Merely a misunderstanding Darling, do not mistake our restraint from harming civilians with the potential of us forming an alliance with them. Any and all females are still considered our enemies and we will defend against them at all costs." She clarified further.

"Oh alright then, I guess that makes sense." I exhaled in defeat.

"And besides Darling! Even if we did know her from somewhere, we still wouldn't have any reason to interact with her. Like my sister said, we belong to you and you alone." Aiva followed up, making me realize that she isn't really listening to what's being said around her, just what she believes to be true.

"We should start heading back now, we still have plenty of time so we're not in a big rush." I explained as I checked my phone to see that it was 3:15 along with an empty inbox, implying that there was no change in plans regarding our departure.

We rounded another series of blocks until we were back on the main market road, only this time heading in the opposite direction, back the way we came.

The street and side shops had really picked up in foot traffic since the time last here. Seeing that it was just past 3:00 means that most probably just got off work and wanted a nice change of pace.

People moved from store to store buying goods, eating goodies, and generally having a good time with those with them.

We personally were treated to the occasional picture taken by onlookers who stood a safe distance away, same went for those else walking, as everyone seemed to migrate to the opposite side of the street when anywhere near us. A little girl even came up with her mom asking if she could pet our 'alien puppy'. Despite being referred by that odd name, Emmi enjoyed the head pat immensely.

Not long after we said goodbye to the little girl and her mom, something off in the far distance caught my attention along with everyone else in the immediate area.

From what I could see it looked like a man on a moped speeding towards us while frantically waving a gun in the air. However he didn't appear to be aiming at us or anyone else in our direction, instead he was turned around yelling and aiming behind him as if he was being chased by someone.

Dust and other small bits of light trash where being kicked up and blown around as he and his pursuer sped closer.

"Caution, armed personnel ahead." Athena informed as we all stood still, waiting for what was going to happen. I did sense however that the girls were preparing for combat, even if they weren't showing it.

"Yeah… I can see that…" I agreed as I tried to make out more details of the moped man, I think I saw a handful of bright coloured handbags slung over his shoulder and blowing in the breeze behind him.

"You think he's aiming at us?" I asked in a surprisingly calm manner which shocked even me.

"Negative, the firearm is currently targeting a second pair organics in pursuit of the first." Athena clarified as I saw what, or who was chasing him.

It was that Centaur from earlier, galloping steadily after the purse bandit with Kimihito on her back and sword gripped firmly in hand. I should have guessed it earlier when I first heard the fast paced hoove clomping.

"GET THE HELL OUTTA MY WAY IDIOTS OR I'LL SHOOT!" We heard him yell while now aiming at us. Even still the girls seemed none to fazed by this. Somehow this put me at ease despite there being a gun wielding crook headed straight towards us.

"You think he's aiming at us now?" I asked coyly.

"Affirmative, target has turned hostile." Athena tactically replied.

"Can you stop him?" I asked now beginning to feel scared by the whole situation.

"Dead or alive?" Aiva asked simply.

"Alive of course… we're not going to be responsible for killing someone." I explained slightly stunned, when suddenly a series of loud gunshots were heard and I found myself looking down the gun barrel while several bronze coloured bullets flew seamlessly through the air, one even exactly at eye level.

Before I could even flinch at the sudden sound, Aiva reached an arm in front of my face, and with one smooth swipe caught all airborne bullets with her hand before they could do any damage. They did however startle the hell out of Emmi who was currently attached to the side of my leg, using it to try and hide her faceplate from the world.

"Darling can I please kill him now? he's already tried and failed to hurt you, so it's only fair I get to do the same, and I can promise you I will kill my target." Aiva begged as she dropped the bullets to the ground and subsequently took aim with her own gun.

"I can't believe you just caught three bullets with your bare hand without even flinching… and no you're still not killing him." I explained making her kick the concrete her and pout.

"Athena, please tell you can stop him without killing him?" I asked, turning to my other towering femme, ignoring Aiva who was silently trying to guilt me into changing my mind.

"Affirmative, shall I execute your orders?" She stated directly with the scooter guy fast approaching, his face and posture looked as if he intended to blast straight through us.

"Yes, do it now!" I ordered desperately while bracing myself for impact. Then with one swift motion Athena reached out and grabbed the man by the throat, pulling him off the moped as soon as he was within range.

With her other arm and antennae caught the moped before it crashed into a nearby set of patio benches.

"Target immobilized, how shall I proceed?" Athena proudly stated as she turned and dropped the moped to the ground, while transitioning her ponytail antennae around the crooks neck to better hold him high above the ground.

"Keep a firm hold of him until we can get him to the police, but seeing how he's unconscious now you just put him on the floor, careful you don't step on him though." I suggested as she frowned slightly and placed the unconscious man on the floor.

"Hey guys, fancy meeting you here." Kimihito greeted as he rode forward with his centaur partner until he noticed the body on the ground. "I'm glad someone finally caught him, we've been chasing the bastard around for almost 20 minutes."

"'Tis a shame I wasn't the one to apprehend the thief, but alas I too am pleased that he's been caught." Centorea spoke with determination as she sheathed her sword and straightened her posture.

"Hey none of you got hurt or anything? Cause I know a few top level medics that could fix you up real quick." Kimihito asked quickly as he dismounted from her saddle.

"No, thankfully none of us got hurt." I answered simply as I didn't want to mention being shot at. He started padding the guy down, taking the purses and handing them to Centorea.

"We'll take the liberty of returning these to their rightful owners… don't wait up for us!" Kimihito declared while heaving himself back onto her saddle and riding off.

"And what about the guy and his gun? Should we… bring them to a police station or something?" I called out, but by then they were already gone.

"That won't be necessary, We'll take it from here." A voice answered back while a pair of heels clicked against the stone.

"You know, I was half expecting for him to escape… glad you changed my mind." She praised as I discovered that it was the stalking Japanese lady from the cafe.

"Um… thank you, but who exactly are you? And why have you been following us?" I asked skeptically.

"Oh, but where are my manners? I'm Kuroko Smith. I work for a part of the SEED intelligence agency and am head of the coordination division. Pretty much means that I have to manage and deal with everyone in the whole damn institute…." She introduced bitterly while waving over her shoulder for a team to come and handle the scene.

"I'm Zack and this is Aiva, Athena, and Emmi." I introduced gesturing to each of the 3 femmes as I said their name.

"Oh yes, I'm quite familiar with who you all are. I've spent countless hours of my spare time reading your rather... extensive reports." She smirked from behind her tinted glasses.

"Yeah, sorry about that… I was told to make them as detailed as possible."

"Oh don't worry about it hun. They were actually quite insightful and dare I say enjoyable to read."

"You flatter me Ms.Kuroko." I waved off.

"Please, call me Smith." She corrected with a sinister overtone as she leaned forward, tilted her glasses onto the bridge of her nose so as to peer over them with gleaming purple eyes.

"Yes, of course Ms.Smith, my mistake." I hesitantly restated causing her to lean back and hum in acknowledgment.

"Hey boss, is this the kid with the aliens you were talking about? About time we got some fresh meat around, I was beginning to get bored with the current candidates." A red haired girl with mismatching eyes and stitched up skin asked while walking up with two guns hanging from the belt loops on her yellow combat suit.

"He is indeed… oh by the way, Zack this is Zombina… she's our undead forward assault operative for MON." Smith explained as I observed the Zombie up and down.

The MON team is a special government supported group of 4 individuals with extraordinary powers. Many don't know about them as they aren't exactly mainstream media, but do a bit a digging and you'll find that they're not top secret either. The group consists of a Zombie, Shapeshifter, Cyclops, and Mini Giant all of which are classified as 'anomalies' that appeared during the demi virus outbreak. However the proper term used to describe their unique powers/abilities is 'quirks'.

The team is tasked with neutralizing and sorting out situations that ordinary law enforcers can't handle. Each member specializes in a different aspect of combat; Zombina's undead and can survive the unsurvivable, Manako has great eyesight and long range precision, Tio is basically a living tank, and lastly Doppel is able to create diversions and kill a group from within.

It's been speculated that the genetic mutations that turned everyone into the Demi's they are today, also caused a very small percentage of people to develop 'super powers' or otherwise known as quirks. Abilities that have no clear scientific backing but exist nonetheless.

"Good to meet you!" I greeted as I extended a hand and she shook it roughly. Causing her stitching to break and for me to rip her hand off as we each pulled away.

"Hey remember kid, shake it don't take it." She laughed as Smith patiently pushed her glasses back into place.

"Wouldn't dream of it, well maybe I'd consider taking a leg." I replied, causing her to snatch her arm and stick it back onto the exposed bone all while laughing so hard she could barely stand upright.

"I'm taking it that you're already comfortable with the idea of the MON team and what they all are. Something that very few manage to see past." Smith spoke with a serious tone.

"Yeah I can imagine what the public opinion would be… but I still think it's crazy that I'm finally meeting you in real life." I agreed as I finally noticed the many agents fitted in tight black suits screening off the nearby area to keep civilians clear and out of the way.

The rest of the MON team had also finished sorting out the crime scene and after loading the man along with his scooter and gun into one of the open vans were making their way over to join us.

"It's always nice to meet fans, hell knows we don't have many of them that with the lady over here keeping our asses out of the news." Zombina spoke with a jagged grin as Smith smiled and calmly stepped on Zombina's foot.

"Ooh, is this the boy with psychic powers and the alien robots? your going to make a great addition to the hero academy." Tio squealed as she and the rest of the MON team came forward.

"Psychic powers, hero academy, what's she talking about?" I asked skeptically.

"Excuse our excitement, it's just because of the programs secrecy that we don't get many candidates." Manako added timidly, causing Ms.Smith to facepalm and groan.

"I like this one, he'll be a fun toy to play with." Doppel sneered while sitting atop the giants shoulder, causing my group of femmes to scowl and for Aiva to lean over and ask if she could 'shoot the small demon child.'

"Well since the mystery's gone and you already know who we all are, I think it's time I show you what our board of directors have been planning for you all." Smith vaguely explained as she motioned for us to follow her into a nearby black van.

"I… can't… I mean we have to get going." I blurted out rather unexpectedly.

"Excuse me?" She asked slowly while turning around.

"Look it's been great meeting with you all, and I'm sure we would have really liked what's been planned, but I have to be somewhere now and I'm never one to bail on friends."

"You're seriously gonna quit on us kid?" Zombina asked loudly as the whole team stared at Smith expectantly.

"Leave him be, he can go about his plans." Smith answered much to the shock of everyone.

"Since it was dumb luck that we ran into you when we were supposed to be out on a rest day. We'll act as if nothing happened, except that we got our introductions out of the way… everything else will still go as planned." Smith explained as the MON team frowned but accepted it nonetheless.

"So were all good here, we can go?" I asked impatiently while shuffling my stance back and forth so as to feel the presence of the femmes standing right behind me.

"Yes, your all free to leave…. We will meet again sometime soon, preferably in a more private and comfortable setting where we can discuss exactly what's going to happen regarding you and your new alien harem." Smith firmly explained.

"Alright that sounds good, we'll sort everything out then, and sorry again for having to leave so unexpectedly." I concluded while stepping aside and slowly backing away from the area.

"Don't stress about it kid, you'll have plenty of chances to get sick of us." Zombina jokingly waved off as she began curiously eyeing the towering femmes that stood before them.

"Aww, is mister human leaving already?… I was hoping to get at least one hug out of him." Tio pouted.

"Don't worry, we'll get to see him soon enough." Manako calmly explained as she patted the giants arm.

"I wonder how sweet his flesh tastes…" Doppel pondered while licking her charcoal lips.

"Noo~ Doppel don't say scary things like that..." Tio whimpered as she ran back to hide in the van with the shapeshifter still perched on her shoulder.

"I better go keep an eye on them." Manako spoke quietly, causing Zombina burst out laughing and for me to snicker. Making the already sensitive Manako become weepy eyed at the thought of others laughing at her as she ran off to the van.

In response Smith gave us a look from behind her glasses that when put simply; 'god damn it you two, you know she's sensitive… and now I'm going to have to walk my ass all the way over there and try to make her feel better or else we'll be left with her wallowing in self pity for the next few days.' With that Smith spun around on an inside heel and proceeded to leave without another word spoken.

"I tell you this whole team is full of too much drama and not enough ass kicking, it seems shit like this happens every other day…. Personally I think it's good to break a few bones every once in awhile, let you know you're really living!" Zombina grinned while glancing back at the van to see Smith and Tio comforting Manako.

"I know it's not my place or anything, but I'm surprised that Manako hasn't gotten used to all the teasing and joking that happens. Especially when having you around constantly."

"I think It's a cyclops thing, the way she sees it everyone but her got all 'the cool shit'... and cause of that she's super self conscious about her eye because to her it's 'nothing special' and it 'makes her ugly'. She wishes she got something more than just a cyclops eye, so we all try our best to keep her mind off it… but I swear it sometimes feels like we're running a daycare more than a strike team around here." Zombina solemnly explained.

"That sucks, I hope she gets through it one day." I admitted sympathetically

"You and me both kid, maybe then I won't have to hear her cry so much…. And who knows, maybe you'll help her get over her anxieties since your new and all. But what do I know? I'm just an undead zombie chick with a knack for shooting guns and pissing people off." She ended with a crazed smile.

"I'll keep that in mind, but for now we have to go… later Zombina." I chuckled while momentarily checking the time, then started to make advances to leave.

"Catch ya later kid, we'll talk soon… and try to keep those aliens under your control, they look like a real handful." Zombina smirked while briefly glancing at the femmes stationed around me. "Anyway good luck kid, you're gonna need it." She ended with a thumbs up before rejoining her team. Giving us the freedom to leave as we pleased.

First passing through the screened off perimeter, guarded by a plethora of agents who let us by without any questions or further complications. From there we resumed our trip back to the meet up spot with there being around 15 minutes remaining. Still walking by many others who were out enjoying their time in the market while subconsciously steering clear of our way.

"Hey man, where you heading? I thought Ms. Smith was going to fill you in on the big surprise?" Kimihito asked as he rode with Centorea and a blue feathered harpy flying close behind.

"Yeah that was the plan, but unfortunately we have to be somewhere now… luckily she said she'll gonna contact me sometime soon, so I guess I'll hear all about it then." I explained as we continued walking past them.

"That so… oh well I doubt this will be the last time we see each other, so you have a good day." Kimihito ended while his steed, Centorea bowed deeply and respectfully.

We were about to continue on our path but the harpy jumped in front to greet us with an energetic "HI I'M PAPI!"

Mind you that this small turquoise harpy was only the height of Emmi, perhaps even a feather shorter.

"Hi, I'm Zack and this is Aiva, Ath~~ WHO IS THAT?" Papi interrupted like a small child while pointing at Emmi with her wing.

"This is Emmi… ." I introduced as the small femme was entranced by the hyper harpy.

But instead of greeting Papi, Emmi settled on stalking her like she was a meal. Papi herself took no notice of this and opted to introduce herself again.

"Hi I'm Papi! And we're going to be best friends!" She chirped as Emmi continued eyeing her 'pray down'.

"Emmi won't eat her, right?" I whispered to the towering femmes who each bent over to listen.

"Are you asking if she can physically eat the humanoid bird, or if she'll choose to do it." Aiva asked for clarification.

"Both." I whispered back while momentarily checking on the two of them. Papi was bouncing back and forth with her wings stretched high above her.

"Emmi's design would allow her to easily consume 'Papi' entirely, whether or not she proceeds relies up to her and if she feels the need to feed." Athena explained coldly.

"Come one Emmi. Let's get you out of here." I exhaled while grabbing a hold of her clawed hand and leading her away from the situation. Kimihito was also quick to do the same for Papi so she wouldn't be tempted to follow us down the road.

"You know seeing how Emmi reacted back there almost makes me not want to show you girls to my family." I spoke my mind about half a block down.

"Why's that Darling?" Both mature femmes asked with there own tones of expression.

"I have 2 little sisters, one of which is a harpy and the other is like 5… I don't want to see them get hurt in anyway."

"We will… keep that in memory." The pair disparagingly repeated.

"I'm not saying that it will happen, or that any of you are hell bent on hurting them… I'm just concerned is all."

"If it is any comfort to you Darling, I can guarantee to the peak of my capabilities, the safety and well-being of your family and those else whom you deem worthy." Athena declared with a straight posture and a determined, warrior like tone.

"Me too Darling! I promise to do the same." Aiva swooned while affectionately grabbing my arm and sandwiching it between her Energon tanks.

"Emmi want to help Zaza too!" Emmi cheered with presumably no clue to what we all were talking about.

"Thanks girls, that makes me feel better. But I'm still kinda nervous on letting some of you around my little sisters, don't worry it'll go away with time and I know you'll all be great." I ended by the time we had re-entered the circular park with the magnificent fountain in the middle. Except we choose to stick to the outer edges of the grassy rings to keep the trip short.

Although the park itself was extremely spacious in how much land area it contained, mostly due to how it was all designed it took less than a minute to get from one main road to another. From there it was a straight shot back to the mall which acted as our meet up spot, but something seemed different.

Know that It's not uncommon for there to be lots of people gathered outside a shopping mall, especially during peak hours. But this looked to chaotic and strangely coordinated to merely be just a gathering of ordinary people minding their business… Also the picketing signs were a good indicator that it was a protest.

Aiva and Athena were also quick to notice this anomaly and ask "Darling what's that ahead?"

"That… is a protest. What exactly they're protesting? I have no idea." I spoke as I caught a faint glimpse of the slogans printed on their signs.

 **"Demi woman are not fetishizes, take back your rights! Fight against the men who want to objectify you."** A group of all female Demi's chanted with the leading Minotaur that stood several feet above the crowd using a box of some sort.

"Okay, maybe I have a slight idea." I spoke causing the 3 femmes to look at me with interest.

"What is it Darling?" Aiva asked curiously.

"Let's just go around it, I've found protests like these aren't something you can win against, neither are they worth getting involved in." Explained as I started to lead them around the mob at a safe distance. I also sent Robbie a quick text saying to meet us at the parking lot.

The signs along with their rallying suggested that all this was to protest against some adult store, video game or something else they don't like.

"Hey you, human, where do you think you're going?" A centaur with a butch looking haircut called out.

"Without taking a pamphlet." She concluded while reaching over the short gate with papers in hand.

"No thanks… I'm good." I sheepishly replied with my head held low, not wanting to talk I picked up the pace. She shrugged and turned back to what she originally doing.

"Hold on a second." The lead Minotaur barked without the need of a megaphone to amplify her booming voice, while also stepping down into the crowd around her. Which surprisingly only came up to her low shoulder.

"Aren't those the robots from yesterday's election. The ones who thought they could get away with bullying another Minotaur? Not likely…. You've got a lot of nerve coming to Earth and thinking that you're better than the rest of us. Now's my chance to show you what a real Minotaur can do." She yelled while unhinging one of the gated sections and throwing it open so to come storming towards us.

Despite what was happening both femmes were handling the situation extremely well, with their only actions being to defensively position their chassis in front of me while keenly watching their target.

"Bully is such a strong word, and besides it's not like anyone got seriously hurt." I tried to explain while simultaneously stepping past their automaton fortifications. They both looked at me with a confused expression as they tried again to shield me.

"Outta my way Human, my beef is with the aliens, not you… now run along before you get hurt too." She growled as she lumbered forward with the stature of a small building. Aiva and Athena are tall but this Minotaur made them seem like children in comparison. My guess she was 11 feet tall. Almost double my height or if Emmi stood on either one of the other femmes.

"Look lady, you really don't want to do this… trust me." I murmured while staring straight up at her tattooed face.

"Oh! Wouldn't you know it, it's a MAN trying to tell me what to do…" She obnoxiously said while pointing down at me and looking around at the cheering crowd behind her.

"Well I got news for you tiny, you can go fuck yourself. In fact once i'm done crushing these aliens over here, I might want to show you what happens to men when they're no longer the big, strong, dominant ones in charge." She threatened while patronizingly cleaning down to my level.

"And as for you tin cans, prepare to be crushed flat as a punishment for underestimating the mighty Minotaur race!" She proudly yelled.

"Even a powerful Demi such as yourself could do nothing against units of our caliber, leave now before we are forced to kill you." Athena threatened back with a high sense of nobility while stepping towards her foe.

"I'm gonna enjoy tearing off your arms and ripping out your spine as a gift to my Darling." Aiva followed up, albeit in a slightly more barbaric manner.

The Minotaur rolled her eyes at her words and grumbled "Alright, let's get this over with." Then without warning she proceeded to violently throw me aside where I landed near the metal fence.

She seemed determined on keeping her promise of crushing the two femmes flat, however before she could even finish turning her head, Aiva let out a primal "DON'T TOUCH MY DARLING!" And lunged forward with bright blades ignited from her arms and antennae. Athena on the other hand took it upon herself to cover Emmi's optics as kneeled down to her tiny stature.

The arms of the behemoth splashed blood onto the surrounding area as the sound of sizzling flesh being cooked and sliced filled the air. It happened so fast that the Minotaur herself couldn't let out a scream until many seconds after.

From what little I could comprehend it looked as if Aiva first cut off both arms while in mid air, landed feet first on the Minotaurs chest, then igniting the rockets in her feet she rebound back to her starting position while simultaneously burning a hole straight through her colossal body.

Then as if in slow motion both the arms and Minotaur began to fall and hit the ground moments later, like the logs of fresh cut trees hitting the floor. Along with that mass amounts of blood pouring out of the large and gruesome looking gashes.

"You killed her… she's dead…" A meek voice spoke from behind the barrier as everyone stared in shock at the dismembered Minotaur.

"YOU MURDERING BASTARDS, WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU?" A second anonymous voice yelled out prompting everyone to refocus their rage back on the femmes.

"LETS GET THEM!" Another called out as every Demi in account rushed towards the femmes, stampeding over the gate and running straight into a group of enraged femmes with their weapons equipped and safeties protocols off.

The Demi's began throwing themselves at the femmes, and with no real weapons on hand they resorted to trying to punch and scratch their way through the twins rugged automaton armour.

Some of the largest and strongest Demi's even tried pulling their limbs and antennas in an attempt to tear the femmes apart.

It was then when a pair of lamia's with matching rainbow Mohawks grabbed me off the floor with their tails and began forcefully dragging me against the flow of the rampage.

"I got their human as a hostage, we should now be able to…" The first lamia tried to explain to her partner as the two of them kept pulling me further into the crowd, but before she could finish both their heads brutally exploded and splashed blood everywhere. I found that Aiva was the one who killed them, as she had both her guns equipped with a sinister smile beaming towards me. Completely ignoring the 7 surrounding Demi's that were trying their best to put a scratch on her.

In amongst the chaos of the rioting Demi's already having bolted past to join the fight. I was able to run and hide behind a bench on the opposing street corner.

From there I witnessed first hand the horrors that were taking place.

Aiva and Athena were both at the center of the fight, working efficiently as a team to kill their opponents quickly and with little to recognize them by. Arms and other severed limbs were scattered across the ground and the pungent smell of fresh blood filled the air and covered everything, except the two femmes doing the killing. And it looked like Aiva was enjoying every second of it, while Athena seemed neither pleased nor disgusted by any of this.

Emmi on the other hand was sitting off to the side, with her tail tightly wrapped around an arachnid that was on the ground screaming in horror as she tried desperately to push the small femme away from viscously ripping out and swallowing her organs through the large hole in her stomach.

Throughout all of this I was supplied with a steady flow of emotions channeling from the femmes, through the sparkbond, and into me. Such strong emotional feedback made it difficult to track whose emotions belonged to which femme and were mine, and what was real opposed to what was emotions… However it was clear by her emotions that Aiva was in it to kill it. Athena and Emmi not so much, and there was still that lingering feeling of a new femmes hidden amongst the mix.

"No, this isn't happening… this can't be happening. All we needed was a quiet and uneventful day… and it was going damn well until now..." I cursed myself as I watched another onslaught of Demi's rush the femmes only to get sliced to shreds.

"They're too strong, we need to find a weakness if we want any hope of ending this." One of the Demi's yelled from the back lines.

"I found the human that controls them, If we kill him then maybe we'll have a chance to stop those robots." A small group of Demi's yelled as they followed a large harpy who had her talons menacing pointed towards me.

I tried to get up and run but my haste got the better of me and I ended up tripping and falling flat on my face. I thought it was all over for me as those talons got bigger and bigger, but just in the nick of time, Athena swooped in. Kicking the harpy away and using her immense wings to blow the others away.

"Darling you must retreat for your safety." Athena advised while tenderly helped me to my feet and leading to a nearby side street.

"Retreat?... N-no you have to stop fighting… please… this isn't who you are." I replied anxiously.

"Apologies Darling, but these organics have proven themselves a danger to you and therefore must be exterminated… if not the possibility of sparkmate injury increases exponentially. " Athena counter argued.

While I was busy trying to think of something else to say the motorcycle girl appeared out of nowhere and greeted with a cheerful "Hi Honey, I'm here to rescue you!" As she drove up and skidded to a stop next to us.

"Darling this is 003, she will be responsible for your protection until we are able to regroup." Athena continued before I could start blabbering again.

"Wait, slow down… you knew her from before? why didn't you say anything?" I questioned, but was cut off when Athena transferred the helmet from the girl onto me, covering my eyes and mouth. Once it was on and I could properly see again I discovered that the girl had disappeared, leaving an empty motorcycle.

"There is no time to explain, you must flee Darling." Athena stubbornly repeated as she lifted me up onto the bike, where I instinctively grabbed the handle bars.

"Now just hold on a second…" I tried a final time but was interrupted again, this time by Aiva suddenly crash landing next to us after being thrown by another giant Minotaur.

"Go Darling, we got this!" Aiva cheered as she ignited her jets and launched herself back at the Minotaur, decapitating the beast with one strike.

"Hang on tight!" The bike cheered as the engine revved up loudly and we launched down the street with squealing tires. Only briefly did I catch a final glimpse of the girls fighting before we were kicked into overdrive and we blasted by a squadron of cop cars on their way to the scene.

Even the bikes digital speedometer was having trouble displaying the speed, as we raced well past 100, then 150. The immense force was to much to handle as I felt my arms strain and blood drain away from my head, causing my vision to fade around the edges. The last thing I could remember were my hands going limp and my head slamming hard against the front handlebars, the impact cracked the visor and knocked me unconscious as I slid off the back of the speeding motorcycle.

 **Black...**

 ** _A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter, hell knows I had a blast writing it. And sorry again for the long space in between, I truly am. But these things take a lot of time, edit and formulate, plus I have to also live a semi-normal life._**

 ** _I know there was a lot that happened in this chapter, so good on you for sticking through to the end. I introduced a lot of 'loose ends' as you may call them, such as Smith, the MON team, Kimihito, something called the hero academy, and some talking motorcycle named 003... all being introduced here._** ** _It was said it couldn't be done, putting the MON team in it, but BOOM! I did it anyway._**

 ** _Anyway, I truly hope you enjoyed this latest update, and all the wacky/heartfelt scenes I put in it, I'm very happy with how it all turned out._**

 ** _So like always; hit that heart, follow, and leave a comment if you're feeling generous, and I'll catch all you wonderful people on the flip flop!_**

 ** _Till next time mates!_**


	9. Entry: A9

I snapped awake seconds later to the whirring sound of advanced machinery and the shifting of metallic plates. I noticed that not only had my helmet disappeared without a trace, but I was now sitting behind the wheel of an advanced self driving car with futuristic displays and orange neon lightning.

"Phew… that was close Honey! Good thing I caught you before you hurt yourself." The motorcycle girls voice echoed throughout the cabin.

"Who are you, and what happened to that girl? You sound just like her… AND HOW THE HELL AM I TALKING TO YOU IF YOU'RE A CAR?" I yelled back as I looked around the interior to see I was the only one in it.

"Don't get angry with me mister, I just saved your life." She replied with semi-serious tone.

"WHY? I don't even know you." I barked back.

"It is the duty of all femmes to protect their beloved sparkmates!" She answered with her voice full of pride.

"...you're an automaton, aren't you..." I admitted in utter dumbfounded realization as I exhaled slowly.

"Yup! I'm unit designation 003 and you're my beloved sparkmate! It's sooo nice to finally have you riding with me!" She delighted while driving dangerously fast down the middle of the road. "You know, I was beginning to get jealous watching my other sister units spending time with you." She continued with a guilting baby voice.

"Okay… that kinda makes sense. But you seriously should've introduced yourself when we first spoke by the cafe." I spoke while thinking of any signs that could have hinted to her being an automaton in disguise.

"I was hoping to make our first meeting memorable… looks like I got my wish after all!" She answered in song.

"Ha, I'll say… showing up in the nick of time definitely accomplished that." I laughed as she giggled along too. Although I doubt she found what I said funny and instead chose to laugh along just for the sake of it.

"You know, I was wrong about you Zero Three… sorry that I was being overly difficult with you. It's just the stress of knowing we were so close to having a perfect day out." I spoke as I leaned back against her seat.

"Aww, that's sweet of you Honey, don't worry I forgive you and still love you with all my spark!" She replied with a sugary tone as I felt her seatbelt tighten across my chest.

"Sooo… where are we going?" I asked after a comfortable break in the conversation while I watched the scenery pass by.

"Nowhere in particular, just enjoying my time with you Honey… once my other sisters units are done, they'll regroup with us regardless of our location." She explained as I listened calmly.

"Sisters... wait holdup… THE FIGHT, we have to go back and stop it." I jumped forward and yelled in shock, but was yanked back by her snug seat belt.

"Sorry Honey, no can do… my job is to keep you far away from danger." She stubbornly replied.

"No you don't understand, we have to try." I argued as I repeatedly tried pulling the door handle, but found she had locked it shut.

"Honey… what would you accomplish by heroically leaping out of my cabin? Especially at these speeds." She spoke with a disapproving tone as I instead tried pumping her brake pedal.

"Hehe, that tickles Honey... but I'm still not bringing you back. Not only could you get hurt, I also don't feel like giving you away just yet." She spoke as I flopped back in her seat. "Maybe I'll let you go in a month or two, whenever I get bored." She teased as I jumped forward, about to violently protest again, but stopped when I released she wasn't being serious.

"I'm joking Honey! I could never do anything like that to you…… well, not unless you also were into it..." She slyly added as I rolled my eyes. I found it was nearly impossible to stay mad or annoyed at 003, with such a cheerful personality and likeable demeanour.

Another few minutes of comfortable silence went by before I opened with another topic. "Hey, since we have some time to kill…(and I'm stuck with you)... how about you tell me about yourself… like what can you do and what happened to your friend back there."

"Oh, do you mean this 'friend'?" She smugly replied when suddenly another passenger materialized out of thin air, seated in the passenger seat and facing me.

There was no doubt that it was that biker girl from before, still wearing the tight looking track suit but lacked the helmet. Her face seemed perfect while at the same time foreign and the little skin that was exposed had a slight translucent gleam to it.

"WHOA!" I yelled in surprise at the sight of the girl. "Yeah that's exactly who I was talking about… how on earth did she get in here?" I continued while searching around the cabin, only to hear her giggling from both the dashboard and the girls mouth.

"Thank you Honey, I designed her myself." She proudly stated as the girl seductively leaned across the centre seat divider.

"Um, what?... sorry I don't follow..." I replied hesitantly as I instinctively leaned away from her.

"She's a hologram silly, a puppet body that I can control and use to interact with the outside world while in my vehicle mode. I can summon up to 12 of these bodies at any time, which can be made to look like anyone or dressed up in anything I want… Personally however, I like to keep their designs similar to what I envisioned myself if I were human." She explained as I noticed the back seats fill up with three more holograms, each identical to the next with the only difference being a faint number imprinted on their chest.

"Well you look very pretty… kinda like a ghostly supermodel." I admitted while gawking at the identical woman scattered around the car.

"Aww, thank you Honey… it warms my spark to hear you call me beautiful." She swooned as I felt a barrage of slender hands reach from behind and tenderly massage my shoulders and arms, while a fifth hologram clone appeared sitting on my lap.

The weight of the fifth clone was incredible, she had actual mass despite being made of 'hard light'. Even her ass squished and conformed evenly across my legs, spreading the load and making the experience even more magnificent. Oddly enough the clone felt extremely light, comparable to having a child sitting on your lap despite her being the size of a full grown woman in EVERY aspect.

"That's amazing, you can turn into different cars AND make a bunch of sexy holograms to control… you automatons can do all the cool stuff."

"Indeed, however I've found that the more holograms I create, the younger in appearance they all become… it must be a bug in my operating system that prevents me from changing it. Luckily this only seems to happen when there are 7-12 actively deployed."

"Can you do it now?"

"Do what right now?" She asked.

"Make 12 holograms, or is there not enough space in here?" I challenged her with a grin.

"Oh you're on Honey!" She smiled as each hologram morphed into 2 smaller, child sized clones, what was even more surprising were the pair of young holograms sitting on the hood and waving at me from outside the car… while we were driving over 100 in a rural area.

"Oh my god, there all so freaking adorable… reminds me of my little sisters." I smiled as I pulled the two sitting on my lap closer and hugged them.

"There's so many of them, how do you keep track of what each of them are doing?" I asked, changing the subject.

"I'm very good at multitasking." All 12 of the clones said in unison as the 2 on the hood disappeared and reappeared in the passenger seat.

"Yeah but still… seems like a lot focus on."

"Well I guess it is a little more complicated than just 'multitasking'… But I don't want to bore you with the fundamentals of hologram matrixing. It's something only those as amazing and talented as myself could manage." She concluded as all the hologram children disappeared in a puff of light, leaving me the lone passenger along for the ride.

My look of wonder was quickly interrupted when I felt a series of buzzing coming from my pocket. It was Robbie saying that they took a shorter route back and that they've been waiting in the parking lot for over 20 minutes, wondering where the hell we are and what was taking us so long.

I replied with a simple 'change of plan' and told them to go back to the base without us. I then pocketed my phone and stared grimly out the window, thinking about the deeper meaning behind the words 'change of plans' that the rest of the team was oblivious too.

"Honey… are you comfortable? Should I adjust the seats?" 003 asked nervously as she watched me silently stare off into the distance.

"No it's okay, I'm actually quite comfortable… I'm thinking about the girls and what the aftermath will be like." I replied flatly.

"What about me? Aren't I one of your femmes now?... shouldn't you be thinking about me..." She spoke with a hint of nervousness in her tone towards the end.

"Ha, that's different… you're not busy publicly mauling a crowd of people after only your second day on Earth… I'm just worried what'll follow all this." I admitted while lightly running my hand along her steering wheel, hearing her engine change tone and start 'purring'.

"I see…… Hey! I have an idea that might cheer you up!" She announced suddenly while violently slamming on the brakes, skidding to a stop in a matter of seconds.

"How about we go for a walk Honey? Maybe it'll help you relax and let us connect more!" She further explained.

"A hike sounds like a great idea… the fresh air might be just what I need to clear my head a bit." I agreed as I opened the door and began to get out. But before I could stick my leg out, 003 violently slammed the door shut, tossing me back into her seat.

"Not so fast Honey, this is also part of the experience." She spoke as she began to transform again.

Similar to before, her transformation involved her reconfiguring her vehicular chassis, with lots of whirring and mechanical/metallic shifting happening around me. It was a miracle that within all the commotion of moving parts I hadn't lost a finger… or worse a limb.

I soon felt myself being raised up from her low profile sports car while her seat got replaced by something less comfortable, all while 003's cabin faded away and exposed me to the open air. Perched on a small platform that was elevated nearly twice my height. From there I could almost see the above the trees.

"Are you impressed Honey?" 003 asked with a booming voice as I turned around. I found that her chassis was absolutely gigantic, double my height if not more. And she held me with one of her hands set underneath me, as a sort of platform to sit on.

"... You're huge…" I gawked.

"Aww, I hope I don't scare you Honey." She teased as she raised her free hand and made a clawing motion with it.

"How… I mean you're so much bigger than the others, you might even be taller than Aiva and Athena combined." I spoke in awe.

"It's a side effect of my units transformer class, with it I am able to transform into many different vehicles forms, however the downside is that my humanoid chassis is rather large and bulky when compared to my other sister units, as I need to carry plenty of reserve nanobots to allow for transformations into my alternate forms… I also come equipped with the hologram UAC (unit ability classification) which allows me to make my hologram puppets." She explained.

"I don't think you'll fit inside our base… or frankly my house for that matter…… maybe I should look at getting some renovations done back home." I pondered, albeit slightly off topic.

"Oh don't worry about that Honey, as long as I have a warm place to park, I'll be more than happy to use my holograms to help out indoors. Just don't keep me parked in place for too long Honey… otherwise I might seize a piston just waiting for you to drive me again." She spoke with a giddy expression.

"So… how big are you exactly?" I asked curiously.

"Honey… you should know you NEVER ask a woman that…" 003 spoke with an offended expression as she turned away in shock. "But anyway, I'm 14 feet tall and weigh 5000 lbs… although my weight is dependent on my current vehicle mode configuratio ." She continued explaining, albeit somewhat bashfully towards the end.

"Ah, so if you're a motorcycle you'll weigh less than if you were a big pickup truck." I asked for clarification.

"Precisely, and my weight will always return to my normal 5000 lbs when I transform back into my humanoid form." She cheerfully responded.

"Hmm, you know…. I think I've found the perfect name for you, since you're a giant robot from outer space with the ability to turn into all kinds of cool vehicles... I want to call you Arcee. Following an old cartoon I used to watch with a character of similar size, abilities, and origin… plus, it kinda rhymes with your unit number; Zero Three." I explained as she keenly listened with a critiquing expression.

She thought about it for a few seconds, before the newly named Arcee sang; "Oh it took you long enough Honey! Now I know you really love me!" As she bounced in place and kissed me passionately, the size difference resulted in half my face being engulfed by her soft and moist polymer lips.

She held the kiss far longer than expected, draining me of my last breath and causing me to slowly suffocate. I needed to stop her, and fast… so I grabbed hold of her cheeks and pinched as hard as I could, causing her to flinch and pull away in shock. Almost dropping me in her state of confusion as she awkwardly fumbled to regain her grasp on me.

"Oww... that hurt Honey…" Arcee whined as she held me in a recovery grip with both hands wrapped tightly around my sides.

"What the hell? You almost drowned me… then dropped me!" I gasped while wiping my face and glaring at her in a less than happy way.

"Whoops, I'm sorry Honey… you're just so small and easy to kiss." She apologized as she took a small step back to recover her balance. But instead managed to trip over a boulder and fall back against a tree. Causing it, along with us, to topple to the ground in a rather hard and painful way.

"These things aren't built very strong…" Arcee groaned as she lay on the forest floor with a series of broken wooden pieces spread beneath her. I meanwhile lay in a sprawled out mess across her upper body with my head resting against her chest. Oddly enough, the armour panels lining her stomach were covered in a thin layer of leather seat upholstery, making it surprisingly comfortable to lay on.

"Are you okay Honey?" She asked while partially sitting up and resting her weight on her elbows.

"You… are a terrible protector…" I spoke with all seriousness but then broke out in laughter a few seconds later.

"I'm trying my best here… this is my first time trying to care for a human and it's really hard. You're so small and delicate, I'm scared I might accidentally crush you if I snuggle you too tight." She pouted once more while attempting to turn away and ignore me, despite me lying on her stomach and resting my head against her breast plate.

"You just tripped over a rock and knocked down a tree… who exactly is babysitting who?" I teased as she opened her mouth to retort, but instead chose to stay quiet and looked away.

"...fair enough…" She grumbled as I broke out laughing once again.

Arcee was definitely a unique femme, not only is she the tallest femme I've ever met, standing at 14 feet tall, while being just big enough to have me lie comfortably on her. She also had a bubbly, fun loving personality that was unlike the others. Her optics had a cheerful sunset orange look to them, implying that her spark glowed that very same beautiful colour.

So far I can say that each automaton I've encountered, although vastly different from the other, are all equally as amazing in their own unique aspects.

"Hehe, you look like you could be my sparkling… my very own organic sparkling, named Honey!" She joked as I let out a small chuckle and rolled onto my back. From there I caught sight of a faint yet familiar pair of red and blue vapour lines, streaking across the cloudless sky.

"Looks like my sister units have returned… shame though, I was enjoying my time alone with you." Arcee spoke as she sat up and moved me onto her lap.

Seconds later the group landed in front of us. Aiva touched down like a superhero, kicking up dirt and making a small impact crater where she hit. Athena meanwhile used a more elegant landing approach as she carried Emmi in her arms and used her pair of auxiliary wings mounted on her back to fly.

"Mission accomplished Darling, we killed all the bad guys!" Aiva proudly announced as she struck a heroic pose. I frowned slightly at her tone and choice of words.

"I too am glad to report the success of our mission, along with your confirmed safety Darling." Athena calmly added with no guilt or remorse in her voice.

"Yay! Emmi so happy to see Zaza again!" Emmi squealed as Athena let her down and she ran over, climbed up Arcee's legs, and dove into my lap.

I instinctively shuffled away from her as she sat back and yawned deeply, exposing her razor sharp predatory teeth while also adorably rubbing her optics. Bringing back the haunting memory of her eating a Demi human alive.

But remembering that there was nothing I could do to change the past, I sighed and placed a hesitant hand on her head, listening to her purr happily as I swore to myself that I would never let anything like that happen again.

I gave Emmi a brief look over as she lay snuggling against my lap, and to my honest surprise I found her teeth, claws and mouth completely clean of any blood and gore, despite her bathing in the guts of a Demi less than an hour ago. In fact her entire chassis was absolutely spotless, leaving me to assume Athena must have thoroughly cleaned Emmi sometime during the flight over.

"It seems that you've bonded well with 003, whom you've affectionately named 'Arcee' in our absence. It is pleasing to know that you've accepted her into your sparkbond as one of your femmes." Athena analyzed with neutral expression as she straightened her posture and stood attentively at her full height.

"Yeah, I guess we did get along well. It's probably from meeting so many new automatons that I've finally gotten the hang of this." I spoke while reclining back on Arcee and resting my head against her breast plating. Both of us smiling as she looked down.

"Yes… perhaps that is a logical explanation." Athena replied contently as she observed us with a hidden smile.

"Hey Darling!" Aiva called my attention. "I got you a special present, in case you're feeling hungry." She continued by retracting her armour plating surrounding her breasts and stomach to reveal a large and muscular severed Minotaur arm that sat within her hollow chassis. She pulled the arm out of her and gracefully dropped it to the ground with a loud meaty thud. The skin was charred black and the meat was still smouldering with a horrific smell of burnt flesh emanating from it.

"Eww Aiva… that's nasty, why do you even have that?… WAIT, don't tell me you ate a piece of it?" I shuddered in disgust as I noticed a series of bite marks across the surface.

"Well, I might've had just one bite." Aiva slyly admitted. Her words coupled with the putrid smell made me gag and almost vomit my guts out. "Oh relax Darling, it's not like I'm going to eat you…. Well maybe I'd like a quick nibble of you to see how delicious human flesh tastes in comparison." Aiva teased with a sadistic tone and an even scarier expression. Leaving me to instinctively pull Emmi closer and hug her.

"Leave Darling alone sister, you're scaring him." Athena spoke with a motherly tone as she walked over and sat next to me, placing a reassuring arm around my back.

"Aww, but I'm only playing with him!" Aiva grinned wildly as she kicked the Minotaur arm to the side and shot it with a single plasma round, incinerating it into a pile of ash.

"Don't listen to her Honey, she's only teasing and isn't serious about anything she says." Arcee calmly reassured.

"I know… but it's still a messed up thing to joke about." I whimpered while avoiding eye contact with Aiva.

"Oh I'm sorry Darling, will you ever forgive me?" Aiva apologized with a fake baby voice and arms outstretched towards me, just begging for a hug.

"Y-yes, I forgive you… j-just promise me you won't do that again." I answered quickly, spewing out my words and barely managing to put together a complete sentence. It was shocking to see Aiva acting so brash and mean, but maybe the girls were right, maybe I'm taking her teasing a little too seriously.

"Oh relax Darling, don't be so serious!" Aiva sang with a sultry tone as she sauntered forward and took a seat next to me, legs crossed and arms thrown around me.

"It's hard for me to relax when you're threatening to EAT ME… something I don't doubt you could do if you wanted too." I yelled as I tried desperately to push her away from me, eventually succeeding with me toppling onto Athena.

"Aww, is my little Darling feeling all scared of me? Don't worry, I can make all that fear melt away." Aiva smirked as she snatched me away from the other femmes and ran a sharp finger along the side of my face.

"Aiva why are you acting like this? It's not funny or cute, it's just scary..." I asked Aiva who gave a demonic giggle in response. Part of me really didn't want to know the reason behind it.

"I'm just super pumped after winning my first battle with you Darling!" Aiva cheered proudly.

"Okay… I get you're excited and all, but could you tone it down a notch, for me at least?" I begged optimistically.

"Fi~iine… I'll do it Darling… but only for you." Aiva sighed, but continued holding me tightly against her frame. "And you better give me extra cuddle time for this, or else I'll have to claim you by force!" She added with her usual smile.

"Yes… of course Aiva." I exhaled in relief of Aiva's change in behaviour.

"Darling, might I ask the reason why we're still stationed here? Perhaps you're awaiting the arrival of the other 4 humans." Athena asked patiently after a few minutes of relative peace and quiet. When, right on cue, my phones ringtone sounded. Startling Emmi and making her jump in place.

"Hold on girls… I need to answer this call." I spoke as I wriggled out of the femmes clutches and hopped down from Arcee's lap. Answering the call as I leaned against a nearby tree, while the girls watched with curious interest.

"Hello? This is Zack speaking." I greeted, my voice still a little wobbly.

"Hey bud it's Robbie. We're nearly back at the base and we've been wondering where the hell y'all are at and what's taking so damn long? Don't tell me those aliens of yours dragged you off into space, or worse a love hotel." Robbie's distinct voice came through the call as I heard him laugh hysterically at his own joke.

"No, nothing like that happened, we actually had a bit of an incident involving a protest… nothing too serious, just thought I'd let you guys know." I admitted nonchalantly.

"Hmm… alright man, whatever you say." Robbie replied with a long silence following.

"So… how's the rest of the team doing? Can I talk to them?" I asked, trying to keep the conversation going.

"They're doing just fine. Both Jonas and Ana are fast asleep in the backseat like a couple of kids and Veronica's busy driving. Why do you ask?" Robbie asked with a hint of suspicion towards the end.

"Oh… no reason, just curious…… This day feels like it's been going on forever." I sighed longingly.

"Dude, it's only been 4 hours… you sure those aliens haven't probed you yet?" He joked again, still chuckling at himself.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure…" I rolled my eyes. "Oh, speaking of which, I found another Automaton! You're all gonna flip when you see how big she is and what she can do." I spoke as I glanced up at Arcee and smiled at her.

"No way, that's awesome! Okay don't waste anymore time getting your freak on and hurry your butts back here…….." And with that he hung up and I was left listening to the dial tone.

"Damn he hung up." I shrugged as I put my phone away. "Alright girls, let's get a move on… it's getting late and I don't know how long it'll take for us to get back." I spoke as each of the femmes stood up from their seated positions.

"Where to Honey?" Arcee asked as she stood tall next to the pine trees.

"Back to our base, there I'll introduce you to my friends." I spoke as they watched me intently.

"But… I thought we were your friends Honey." Arcee spoke up nervously, on the verge of tears.

"I-It's not like that, they're more like... business partners. Nothing you need to worry or feel jealous about." I answered quickly, defusing the situation before it escalated into something major.

"Anyway, shall we get going?" I asked again as Athena stood up fully and began surveying the area.

"Caution Darling, law enforcers detected within proximity… I suggest an ariel retreat to avoid detection." Athena spoke with her optics a hazy blue colour as she used her scanner.

"Frag that Darling, I say we kill them and any other humans that stands in our way, then you'll be mine alone forever!" Aiva schemed as Athena bent over, picked up a decent sized rock, and threw it at her twin. Hitting Aiva directly in the faceplate and causing her to flail around in circles as she recovered her balance.

"Hey Arcee, can you turn into something big enough to fit us all? like a flatbed or transport truck." I directed the question to Arcee while ignoring the twins and their increasingly violent antics.

"You betcha I can!" Arcee sang as she knelt over and smoothly transformed her frame from towering femme into a large military type transport truck. "Is this okay Honey?" She asked as her tires and suspension settled on the hard packed ground.

"Yeah, that'll work perfectly." I agreed as one of her holograms materialized standing next to her vehicle form and gave a thumbs up.

"Darling, surely we'll be detected by performing a grounded retreat, and besides, the trips duration will be substantially longer than if we traveled by air." Athena analyzed as she looked confused by my decision.

"Well… I just want to drive, what's wrong with that?" I replied defensively.

"Wait a second Darling…" Aiva analyzed me suspiciously, "are you… scared of flying?" She asked slowly.

"N-no, why would ask that?" I replied with a high pitched voice as the girls stared at me with unflinching expressions. "Alright fine, you caught me. I'm scared of heights… happy now?" I admitted defensively.

"Ah-ha, I knew it Darling!.. I was right so you owe me a kiss!" Aiva declared as she pointed at me with a cheeky grin plastered on her faceplate.

"How long have you had this fear of heights?" Arcee calmly asked, as the others kept asking more questions in rapid fire.

"Can Zaza still jump with Emmi?" Emmi asked innocently.

"Is there anything else you're scared of?" Arcee asked therapeutically.

"Are you scared of us too Darling?..." Aiva asked menacingly.

"Is this the reason why you insisted on travelling with your organic companions rather than with us?" Athena asked coldly.

"Girls, please stop… you don't have to rub it in…" I admitted quietly as they all stopped and looked at each other with concerned expressions.

"Oh Honey, there's nothing to be ashamed of, everyone has something they don't like... for example I hate when bird poop gets on my paint." Arcee comforted as she sat cross legged on her hood using one of her hologram clones.

"Emmi no like loud 'ring ring' sound that Zaza's phone makes." Emmi added with a huff.

"I'm not scared of anything Darling!" Aiva announced while pointing at herself pridefully. "Well, almost nothing…" she admitted after a few seconds as her smile faded into a distant, thoughtful expression.

"Why didn't you tell us about this earlier, Darling?" Athena interrogated with a calm tone.

"I dunno, It wasn't relevant until now..." I shrugged with my head kept low, embarrassed from having to share something so stupid and petty with them.

"What other secrets haven't you told us yet, Darling?" Aiva asked sinisterly as her lava red optics burned brighter and her chassis seemingly getting bigger and more intimidating with each step she took.

Athena sighed impatiently and slapped Aiva on the back of her helm. Shutting down her forward advances and almost causing her to faceplant against the ground.

"So Darling, what aspect of the flight process are you most afraid of?" Athena asked directly with heavy eye contact. Ignoring Aiva who was glaring murder at her, moments away from exploding and starting yet another fight.

"Well… it's not exactly flying itself that scares me, it's looking down from high heights that absolutely terrifies me… stuff like roller coasters, tall bridges, cliff sides, and even tall skyscrapers all make my head spin when I'm on top of them." I explained, sharing more than I originally wanted. Nevertheless the girls listened respectfully.

"Interesting..." Athena hummed sincerely.

"I'm sorry girls, you must all be so disappointed having to hear this about me." I sighed.

"On the contrary Darling, we love learning new information about you, regardless if you perceive what you say as negative… and we promise to help resolve this issue in the future." Athena spoke analytically.

"Yeah Darling, I'll make your fear all go away." Aiva's beamed with a certain sparkle in her optics.

"That's sweet of you girls to try and help me with my problems… but sadly this isn't something you can just fix..." I admitted solemnly. "But anyway… I'd rather not talk about this now since the police are out looking for us." I tried changing the subject to something different.

"We understand Darling, however I have decided to assume temporary command over the current situation to ensure your absolute safety when returning…. Is this alright with you Darling?" Athena asked with a commanding tone as waited patiently for my response.

"Yeah… of course, do want you need." I answered somewhat hesitantly.

With that Athena signaled to Arcee, prompting her transform her chassis into a futuristic spaceship that looked otherworldly.

"Wow… and I thought your motorcycle was impressive." I gawked as I stood there admiring her bright orange paint job and multi-wing design with a plethora of energy based weapons mounted along her hull.

"Come aboard Honey, I'll give you that grand tour." Arcee invited as her rear airlock lowered to the ground and a pair of mature holograms walked out to greet us.

"I still don't know about this girls…" I hesitated as I shuffled in place, knowing full well what happens when I get onboard.

"Aww come on Darling, it'll be fun!... I'll even cuddle you the whole flight." Aiva beamed as she latched onto my arm and tugged me towards the ship.

"Zaza no forget Emmi, she want cuddles too!" Emmi cried as she ran over and hugged my legs.

I smiled thoughtfully while petting her helm and hearing her purr. "Okay… let's do it… what's the worst that could happen?" I spoke confidently as I took a deep breath and followed the girls inside the ship. Each of them celebrating in their own little way.

The interior was dim in contrast to the forest outside, with the only source of light being the daylight shining in through the open airlock. Once we reached the heart of the ship, the ramp retracted and the airlock closed with a powerful mechanical clunk, sealing us inside.

Arcee's cabin remained dark and lifeless, despite the large observatory windows that symmetrically lined the sides of her hull and cockpit. All of which were tinted black to the extent that no light could shine through into the cabin. Even the trees outside were reduced to blurry shadows when viewed through the darkened windows.

It would've been impossible to see anything if it weren't for the vibrant; red, blue, and pink auras that glowed from each of the femmes chassis. Even still the girls, along with Arcee, stayed eerily silent through all of this. With the only sounds being my sporadic breathing, the faint whisper of leaves rustling outside, and the soothing hum of the femmes alien operating systems.

Emmi must have sensed my anxiety through the bond, as she reached out and held my hand in hers, while keeping her tail securely wrapped around my legs. Likely to prevent me from running away if the opportunity arose.

After waiting an hour in the dark, which realistically was only a minute or two max, the lights switched on. Slowly illuminating the cabin with soft lights that powered on throughout her interior, giving the ship a comforting feeling of being somewhere warm, safe, and familiar. The windows also cleared to normal viewing transparency, flooding our surroundings with an abundance of natural light.

Her interior, although sleek in design and alien in origin, was very reminiscent to the spacecraft built on Earth. Clearly shown by her furnishings which were space efficient, functionally designed, and practical. In fact everything onboard existed only to serve a useful purpose, all while giving her a certain homey vibe. Additionally almost every surface inside shimmered and fluctuated passively, as if her entire alternate form was alive and breathing.

Located directly at the heart of the ship was a large hexagonal table that acted as Arcee's main passenger interface. Currently projecting a holographic globe along with other visual displays showing information on the ship, the planet, and the outside environment.

In between the interface table and airlock doors was a large empty space where we currently stood. Surrounding us were 2 sets of benches that stretched alongside her partially angled hull walls, resembling the seats used in large military aircraft to transport multiple passengers while still having enough room in the middle to store either multiple pallets of cargo or a vehicle of choice.

To either side of the interface table were small utility rooms that looked reconfigurable. Each room was imbedded into the base of one of Arcee's wings and was capable of changing depending on the circumstance or whatever Arcee had in mind.

And lastly located at the nose of the ship was the cockpit. Outfitted with a full panoramic view and 4 operator seats arranged in rows of 2. Positioned upfront in the first row were the pair sets of pilot controls, and setup behind were the pair of co-pilots, acting as navigators and gunner.

"Welcome aboard Honey! Do you like what you see?" Arcee flirted, her sweet voice filled the silence while startling me.

"It's incredible." I stated while looking around. "You're incredible… I can't believe this is real and I'm not dreaming." I corrected myself as I stepped forward to explore more of the 2 rooms that

"I'm happy you like me, after all this ship is my most powerful alternate form." She giggled, her digital voice echoing throughout her cabin.

"The finest model of starship in the universe, designed on our homeworld and used exclusively by us X-01 automatons. It's a collection of the most advanced weapon systems, hyperspace engines, and atomic synthesizers ever designed… I am capable of war, exploration, and habitation whether underwater, on land, or in deep space. I can do anything you want me to." She explained as two holograms materialized in the co-pilots seats and swivelled around to face us.

"Granted I've made some of my own improvements to the design that I travelled alone to Earth, hoping for a Sparkmate that would one day accompany me throughout the galaxy." She continued as I noticed an area hidden near the roof of the ship that had a large bed and a skylight window, only accessible by a pair of disguised ladders built into either wall.

"What do you think Honey? Wanna take me out for a test drive?" She asked enthusiastically.

"M-maybe another time… I just want to go home." I muttered.

"Party pooper..." Arcee sounded like she stuck her tongue out at me. "Okay Honey, I'll bring you home… but only because you promised to fly me later." She slyly manipulated.

"Wait what!? I didn't promise anything…" I choked.

"Too late Honey, you promised... now you have to fly me!" Arcee stubbornly stated, I looked back at the girls for support, but received nothing helpful.

"Alright fine, you win… I promise I'll fly you. Now can we please get going?" I pleaded.

"Of course Honey, I was only teasing you… I'm ready for takeoff whenever you are." She spoke with a prepared tone.

"Arcee wait… don't you need to know where to go?" I asked as the thought had crossed my mind.

"Oh there's no need Honey, I already received the coordinates from a data pack my sparksisters sent me. I know everything about you… so just sit back and relax. I'll get you home safely." Arcee spoke as I took a seat on side of her benches. The girls were quick to join me on either side me while Emmi plopped herself onto my lap and started making herself comfortable.

"It's my turn to sit on Darlings lap." Aiva grumbled as Emmi stuck her tongue out at her and went back to nuzzling her helm against my chest.

"I don't think you'd fit on my lap, you're too big." I spoke as she glared at me with big red optics and puffed out cheeks. "... besides, I like having you sit next to me way more." I quickly restated as Aiva smiled devilishly and hugged my arm tightly between her bountiful Energon tanks.

"You ready Honey? I'll make this as smooth as I can." Arcee asked after silently watching us.

"Yup… do it…" I approved with clenched teeth and shut eyes.

Immediately Arcee's engines sparked to life and I felt her landing gear leave the ground as the ship began to hover. The takeoff was smooth and effortless with little bodily strain, completely unlike how I had envisioned it being. However that didn't stop me from keeping my eyes squeezed painfully shut, while burying my face into Emmi's fibrous antenna hair. Hearing her squeak as I hugged her tightly. Before I knew it, we were soaring high above the ground, inches below the clouds.

"Aww, Darling looks so cute when he's scared… I love it!" Aiva squealed like a demonic school girl as she pulled me close into a big hug.

"You can open your eyes now Honey, we're at a safe altitude and cruising speed." Arcee spoke as I cracked open an eye to see the 2 holograms standing before me, while the girls leaned into view.

"Wait… if you're here then… WHO'S FLYING THE SHIP?" I freaked as I tried to jump up, but the 3 femmes kept me in place.

"Oh relax Honey, I don't need a pilot to fly me… although, I could always use a captain." Arcee smiled suggestively as she gestured to the cockpit.

"No Arcee, we discussed this already… I'm not piloting you now."

"But you don't have to fly, what if you just sat with me alone in the cockpit and act as my captain!" She offered.

"No." I replied sternly.

"Oh well, it was worth a try." Arcee sighed as her holograms looked at each other and shrugged casually. Turning their backs and walking back to the cockpit in unison.

"I call dibs on Darling! He's gonna fly me first!" Aiva grinned pridefully. "Right Darling?" She added with a threatening tone as her irises turned to little crosshairs.

"Hehe, yeah of course you'll be first." I replied out of fear as Aiva's hostility turned into a playful smirk.

"I too request that you learn to pilot my chassis Darling… I feel it will be useful for you to learn my flight dynamics." Athena added in light to her twins request.

"Emmi can't fly… but she likes when Zaza carries her." Emmi adorably contributed.

"Okay okay, fine girls… you win." I put my hands up and they all immediately sat back and listened. "I promise I'll fly each of you when I'm ready for it… and I'm going to learn to tolerate it whether I like it or not, since I'm sensing that I'll be doing a lot of this sort of thing in the future." I promised wholeheartedly as I felt them radiated happiness through the sparkbond. Although their constant persistence and phrasing made me wonder if the act of flying was something sexual to them.

That answer seemed to please them, allowing me to close my eyes and rest back against the window.

By now Emmi was board and had decide to get up and leave my lap to look out the window. Kneeling on the bench, in between Athena and myself, with her hands and faceplate pressed up against the window as she watched the scenery zoom past.

"The views nice… when I do occasionally fly commercially, I usually don't look out the window." I pushed himself up against window, similar to Emmi.

"See Darling, flying isn't that scary when you're safe with me." Aiva teased as she leaned heavily against me with her focus set on me rather than the outside.

"Zaza no scared now?" Emmi asked as she looked up at innocently.

"Just don't look down Darling." Athena advised as I instinctively looked down upon her mention of it. I immediately started freaking out again, fogging up the window with my breath as I pushed myself away from it.

Emmi must have thought I was playing a game as she placed her hand on the fogged section of the window and looked at me expectantly.

"I think that's enough scenery for today." I whimpered as I turned around and concentrated on the ships floor.

"Oh Darling… you're hopeless…" Aiva smiled as she snuggled under my arm and sighed happily.

 **o0o**

 **Back at the base;** the team had just arrived and parked the Xtrek in amongst the shaded tree line. Veronica and Robbie were first to exit the vehicle and begin unloading their shopping purchases. Leaving Ana and Jonas behind to sleep off their karaoke in the backseat.

"I wonder what's taking them so long? I hope nothing bad happened… do you think they'll come back soon? Are you sure they didn't tell you anything else?" Veronica worried like a paranoid mother as she and Robbie unloaded some groceries from the trunk and carried them across the field to the underground base.

"I didn't think I'd get attached to them so quickly. For heaven's sake it's only been a week and I'm acting like their mother." Veronica continued.

"They're fine, you're just paranoid… and remember how protective those aliens over him, they'll keep him safe." Robbie spoke optimistically.

"I know, but I still worry." Veronica sighed heavily.

"Tell you what, if they're not here in the next 10 minutes, then we'll call him again." Robbie comforted as he checked the time on his watch. Veronica agreed as they opened the bulkhead and went inside the base, leaving the bags at the bottom of the stairs.

Ana and Jonas had finally awoken and stumbled to their feet. Standing in the shade as they squinted hard to see out into the sunny field.

Robbie and Veronica returned to get the remaining groceries, chatting as they walked leisurely across the field with Ana and Jonas lagging behind and leaning on each other as they dragged their bags through the grass.

Suddenly a large object appeared overhead. Blocking out the sun and casting a dark shadow over the surrounding area. Causing the group to look up and immediately sprint for shelter inside the base, ditching their bags in the process as they dove for cover. Leaving Ana and Jonas fully awake and pumped full of adrenaline.

Strong gusts of wind rushed past them as they sat crouched in the stairwell, air bellowed against the concrete foundation while the thundering sound of a rocket engine filled their ears.

Just as fast as it all began, suddenly everything stopped. The violent winds subsided and the rockets could be heard powering down.

Curiously the 4 of them peeked their heads out and saw a black and orange spaceship, sitting on the lawn with large scorch marks on grass just below the rocket. Eventually they each got up and began creeping slowly towards the mysterious vessel. Keeping a safe distance as they investigated.

"No way, is that a spaceship? So cool!" Ana fan-girled as she bounced in place.

"It looks alien, kinda like Emmi and the others… do you think it's Zack or perhaps another alien encounter?" Veronica analyzed, glancing at Robbie for support.

"I think our boy has just come back." Robbie grinned proudly.

"Holy shit, he's got a spaceship now too? Of course he does, because he's just so frickin amazing!" Jonas grunted bitterly as he threw his arms up and walked away. Grumbling to himself as he stormed down the stairs, thumping the bags against each step.

Ana noticed this and immediately went after him, screaming for him to come back as she chased him down the stairs.

 **Back inside the ship;** Robbie and Veronica could be seen standing outside and admiring Arcee's disguised form. However, my main focus was trying not to vomit, as I sat keeled over and focusing on the floor.

"Oh man… I think I'm gonna throw up..." I groaned as I clutched my sides.

"Let's get you outside Honey, the fresh air will help you feel better." Arcee suggested as she opened her airlock and lowered her rear hatch to the ground, giving a ceremonious reveal to the group.

"But I kinda liked flying with you Arcee, since I wasn't in any real danger of falling… I think I'd like to try it again someday..." I admitted as we stood up from the bench and made our way outside. The girls seemed happy by my response as they smiled physically and through the bond. Especially Arcee.

The sun was blindingly bright as we left the shaded protection of Arcee's cabin, causing me to squint hard and use a hand to shield my face. My legs felt weak and my stomach churned as we made our way down the ramp. Luckily the girls were positioned around me in case I fell or lost balance.

"Oh, what a relief to see you're all safe!" Veronica exhaled with a hand laid over her heart.

"Zack my boy! Glad to see you're still in one piece. So, where'd ya get that fancy spaceship?" Robbie called out while gesturing at Arcee.

"Do you know how worried you made us when you didn't show?" Veronica spoke again, this time much more sternly, as she waited at the bottom of the ramp with her hands planted on her hips. Like a mother angry with her children for breaking curfew.

"Hey guys… sorry we kept you all waiting." I greeted somewhat anxiously, knowing she wasn't pleased.

Veronica marched forward and pinched my cheek and started inspecting me up and down. Her eyes narrowed as she focused her attention to the bottom half of my shirt which was stained with blood.

"Is that blood on your shirt?" She asked sharply, gesturing to the stain while maintaining direct eye contact.

"Oh I guess there is some, don't worry it's not mine." I replied nonchalantly as I lifted my shirt to see for myself, only after realizing what I'd just said. Slowly I looked up to see Veronica's face beet red and ready to explode.

"WHAT? What do you mean it's not 'your' blood… THEN WHOSE BLOOD IS IT?" She erupted, startling me and the girls.

"Umm, well…" I stuttered, trying to think of a believable excuse.

"What happened?" Veronica demanded as she grasped my cheeks and inspected my eyes and frowned.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about?" I stuttered again, my mind still blank.

"Zackary Axel, you better tell me right now, or so help me." Veronica spoke sternly with crossed arms.

I turned for support, but found the girls hiding behind me in a single file line, trying their best to avoid Veronica's sight as she interrogated me. Even Arcee remained silent in her ship form, not wanting to draw attention from the scary human. Evidently none of the femmes wanted to get involved and simply opted to keep their distance.

"Alright, fine by me… I see how it is." She huffed as she pinched my ear and began to tug me away. I glanced back and saw the femmes visibly trying to decide what they should do.

"Don't touch my Darling." Aiva barked as she moved in front to defend me, but instantly regretted that decision when Veronica refocused on her.

"You too young lady… you have some explaining to do. Why is there blood on his clothing? What happened?" Veronica snapped at Aiva, causing her to shrink back and try to hide behind me once again.

Veronica then turned to Athena who stared silently at her with a blank and indecipherable expression. "What happened while you were gone?" She repeated the question, her patience wearing thin.

"I refuse to betray my Darling by assisting the enemy." Athena replied coldly as she kept her posture straight and upright.

She glanced briefly at Emmi, who was standing behind Athena's towering legs, hugging her tail while on the verge of tears as she leaned safely against her big sparksister. Veronica ultimately decided to leave Emmi alone and not risk scaring her even more.

"So, none of you will tell me… well in that case, you won't mind if Zack and I have a little chat, alone… and I promise none of you will be allowed to see him, until I get what I'm looking for." She grabbed my arm and started pulling me to the base.

"Noo!" Emmi cried out as she jumped on my back and pushed me face first into the dirt. "No take Zaza." She protested as she sat atop my collapsed body with her arms crossed.

"Well then, I'm waiting…" Veronica tapped her foot impatiently.

"Alright fine… there was a fight." I answered abruptly, shocking Veronica. "We started a fight with a large protest and killed everyone there… you happy now?"

"I-is this true?" Veronica gasped, looking at the femmes stationed around me. "ANSWER ME!"

"...yes..." The femmes timidly answered in unison. Except for Emmi, she didn't really understand the gravity of the situation and replied with a sweet and innocent smile. "Yes! Emmi eat bad meanies to help protect Zaza!"

"Wait, did she just say 'eat'? Like she ate someone?" Veronica gulped in horror, taking a half step back.

"Yeah, I'm not proud of that either." I replied while sitting up and rubbing the back of my head. Causing Emmi to roll off my back and onto the lawn, where she lay face up and sprawled out like a starfish.

"Emmi… our sweet, little, innocent Emmi ate someone? Like chewed up and swallowed?" She repeated in shock, trying to process something seemingly impossible.

"I can't believe it… I knew something would happen, but yet I still allowed it… WHY?" Veronica muttered as she turned around to think and cool down.

"Please don't be mad with Zack, it was our fault the fight happened." Arcee unexpectedly spoke out.

"And who might you be?" Veronica snapped with an annoyed tone towards the source of sound

"Call me Arcee, and Zack is my beloved sparkmate." Arcee calmly explained as she reverted back to her femme form. Veronica watched as the spaceship transformed right before her eyes into the shape of a crouched automaton femme. Arcee then stood up to her full height and faced Veronica, whose jaw dropped at her large proportions.

"Oh heavens…" Veronica took a fearful step back upon seeing her size. "I-i'm terribly sorry you had to see me act that way, especially toward your spark… mate……... please don't hurt me." She winced with her hands raised to protect herself as Arcee walked over.

"Oh nonono." Arcee waved her arms frantically. "Please don't be scared of me Miss Human, I'm not going to hurt you." She reassured as she got down on her knees and smiled warmly at Veronica, her big orange optics showing no signs of hostility.

"Well… you're certainly a lot bigger than the other automatons… frankly some might find it a little intimidating." Veronica chuckled nervously.

"Thank you! It's an honour to hear that, especially from you Miss Veronica!" Arcee beamed with a certain glimmer in her optics.

"Oh my, you're such a dear. It's no wonder Zack came to like you so quickly." Veronica explained as Aiva scowled audibly. "And please, you can just call me Veronica. No need for any of that Miss's talk around here." Veronica relaxed and let out her breath, taking a seat on the hill so to be near eye level with Arcee.

"Y-yes of course… my deepest apologies…" Arcee bowed her head low.

"There's no need to apologize hun… it's not like you have to impress us anymore than you already have." Veronica casually replied as Arcee nodded and gave a faint smile, but didn't respond while she stared blankly at the ground.

"You okay Arcee? I asked after noticing that the conversation between the two had died. Leaving the other femmes to check up on Arcee.

"Yes, of course Honey… why wouldn't I be?" She snapped out of daze and looked at me puzzled.

"I dunno, you kinda froze up there for a second." I continued

"There's just a lot to process at once Honey, I'm fine." She dismissed.

"You sure? Because sometimes when my computer isn't working properly it needs a reboot to fix the problem… you know, turn the power off and on again." I explained with some wild gestures as she watched humorously from above.

"Very funny mister, but all my systems are functioning properly within normal operating parameters." Arcee answered slyly. "But I wouldn't mind giving you an in-depth preview of my software, in exchange for a special hands-on demo with your hardware." She whispered sensually in my ear as she craned to my size/height/stature.

Veronica smirked knowingly as she leaned back contently. A series of echoey voices were heard as Robbie, Ana, and Jonas travelled up the stairs to join us.

"Damn, what happened out here? I go inside for like 2 minutes and come back to find a giant beautiful robot sitting on our lawn." Robbie asked boisterously the moment his head emerged.

"Hey guys! This is Arcee… guess you could say she's my newest automaton." I announced to the group who each reacted with a variety of expressions to both my joke and the giant femme looming behind me.

"Arcee, this is Ana, Jonas, and Robbie." I introduced the team, gesturing to each person as I said their names. She followed along as I listed them off, but her attention lingered on Robbie after I concluded with him.

"Oh! Are you Zack's father? It's lovely to have meet both of Honey's parents." Arcee sincerely exclaimed as the team looked at each other and burst out laughing. Much to the confusion of Arcee and the general lack of interest from the other girls. Even I couldn't help but let out a suppressed chuckle.

"Zack my boy, I think you found a keeper." Robbie choked between gasps of air.

"Honey, why is everyone laughing at me? Did I do something wrong?" Arcee whispered to me with concern in her optics.

"No, you did nothing wrong… it's just that, those aren't my parents, they're just friends." I explained while trying my best to stifle my laughter.

"Oh… I see…" Arcee blushed from embarrassment as she hugged her legs in an attempt to appear as small as possible.

"Don't feel bad hun, I think it's cute that you thought we were his parents." Veronica comforted, causing Arcee to relax both digitally and physically.

"You're so big…" Ana gawked as she ran over and stretched onto her toes to compare heights with the kneeling Arcee, who was well over double Ana's height and wore a patient smile… Then she tried climbing Arcee's legs, paralyzing the femme from the sudden actions made by the tiny human.

"What happened to the ship?" Jonas asked incompetently while we were busy watching the spectacle. Everyone, including the femmes, turned and looked at him like he was stupid.

"Arcee is the ship… she can transform into different vehicles." I finally answered after realizing no one else would say it. He made an 'o' shape with his mouth and turned away.

"You'd think it'd be obvious considering one minute there was a spaceship, then the next minute the ships gone and there's a giant robot… tell me again why I brought you on this project?" Robbie teased as Jonas ears turned red and he stormed back inside, leaving with a finally "fuck you all."

Once again Ana noticed her boyfriend leaving and decidedly chased after him while screaming his name.

"Ah hahaha!" Robbie gave a deep belly laugh. "C'mon let's go inside, we have a lot to talk about over a coupl'a beers." He gestured as we all got up and made our way inside in a single file line.

But it wasn't until we were halfway down that it dawned on me. I was so caught up on finally being home after such a long day out, that I had completely forgotten that Arcee was too big to fit inside the base, let alone use the stairs.

I stopped and looked back, there I could see her giving me a distant smile of encouragement as she sat alone. Like she knew she couldn't accompany us inside, but was okay waiting for my return. I went to go talk to her, but paused again, only a few steps from the top. By now everyone else was gone, probably wondering what was taking so long. I shook my head, disappointed that her size of all things would be the limiting factor.

We couldn't stay here, not any longer, I had to bring them back to my home. This whole project had grown bigger and more dangerous than any of us could've imagined, becoming more than just a simple research experiment. These girls are now a part of my life and I couldn't be happier. But they're still dangerous and violent killing machines, and with only my safety guaranteed, I couldn't risk the lives of my teammates anymore.

It was fine before when it was just Emmi, then we lucked out with Aiva and Athena who could barely fit inside, ignoring their violent tendencies. But now the situation has changed, Arcee was simply to big. At least I know there's enough space for Arcee at my home. The garage is warm and spacious as it was built into the first floor of the house, and it also connects right into the living room which has tall ceilings and access to the second floor master bedroom, kitchen, and other main rooms of the house. There Arcee should be able to stand and walk around the majority of the house. She could use her holograms to get to the smaller areas. It wasn't ideal but it could work. I guess I should be thankful that Arcee's height isn't something absurd, like the size of a skyscraper.

I made my decision and returned downstairs to confront the team. After leaving the girls in the bedroom for some privacy, I gathered them together on couches and told them my plan.

"You can't possibly be serious… absolutely not!" Veronica denied as the others tried to process what they just heard.

"Yes, of course I'm serious, I want to take the girls home with me…. Please, you have to trust me on this." I pleaded to Veronica as Robbie thoughtfully stroked his stubble in the background

"No..." She stubbornly crossed her arms.

"Oh come on Veronica, you knew this was bound to happen eventually..." I rebuked but got no reply from her whatsoever. "Well at least give me reason why..." I begged desperately,

"I can give you 5 good reasons mister…" Veronica took a deep breath while she leaned in dramatically and placed her hands on her hips.

"First of all, they're not yours to decide what happens, they are government property…. Secondly, you're not the one in charge here. I am, and my answer is no... You've also proven that you can't control them, so that is why they're going to stay here where they can't hurt anymore civilians…. Furthermore, If you leave then we'll be out of a job… and lastly... I just don't want any of you to leave so soon after you crashed into our lives." She ended with a saddened look, but quickly regained her composure.

"That's the end of discussion… now go tell Arcee that tomorrow we'll work on opening the hangar doors so she can stay in the cell." Veronica concluded without leaving much room for discussion as she left for her room.

"Actually… I think we should let them go." Robbie suggested as Veronica snapped her attention to him, glaring daggers at anyone who'd dare oppose her.

"Wait, hear me out…" Robbie calmly raised his hands in defence, before the verbal thrashing could begin. Reluctantly she let him speak.

"Those automatons are bonded to Zack, yes? And whether we like it or not, they're only here because of him. Otherwise if it wasn't for Zack being here, they most definitely would've killed us and left a long time ago… and now they've grown to big for this old bunker to fit. I hate to say it, but this is beyond us now, it's time we let them move on... I'm just happy I got to play a part in all this." He explained as he stood up and outstretched his hand towards me.

"It's been a real damn pleasure working with you… I hope all goes well." He smiled as I moved to shake his hand, but instead he pulled me into great big bear hug.

"And who knows, we might even invite y'all to our wedding... provided you're still alive by then." He smirked with a firm pat on my shoulder. Veronica rolled her eyes at that notion, but gave way to a light blush after thinking about the implications of getting married.

"Oh screw this, we've done this sad sorry sob story before… well I'm officially done with this shit. I'll be in my room… call we when dinners ready and that asshole is still here." Jonas snorted as he pushed past us and violently slammed the door behind him.

"Yeah, sorry about him… I honestly don't know what's gotten into him recently." Ana shook her head disappointedly as she stepped forward and apologized on his behalf.

"Anyway, if this is goodbye, then know I really enjoyed my time with Emmi… and I guess you were pretty okay yourself." Ana smirked deviously before softening up and we shared a final parting hug.

"Speaking of Emmi, be a doll and bring her out for me, will ya? I want to say goodbye to that cutie one last time." She concluded as we ended the rather brief interaction. "After all, I might never get the chance to see her again."

"Yeah of course… you can say goodbye while I pack my stuff." I agreed as I back pedaled towards my room.

Only to immediately bump into Veronica who was standing right behind me with her head bowed ominously low. She looked up once my attention was on her and to my surprise tears streaked her face.

"Do you really have to go?" Veronica sniffed with weepy eyes as she put one hand on my shoulder and used the other to gently cup my cheek.

"Umm, well…" I murmured, trying to come up with something sweet and reassuring.

"You don't have to answer that hun, I know this is for the best…" She smiled through the tears. "Take care love, we're really gonna miss you… please keep in touch." Veronica hesitated before she pulled me into a tender hug and pecked my cheek with a little kiss.

Maybe it was a good thing I left the girls in the room, so we could avoid them seeing this and becoming violently jealous, especially since we're leaving shortly.

"Yeah of course… we'll invite all of you to dinner once everything settles down." I ended when I felt a series of piercing stares on my neck.

But as I sidestepped around Veronica to continue to my room, I found the door slightly cracked open and the trio of femmes spying on us with bright neon optics shining through the sliver. Their optics went wide when they realized they'd been caught peeking, and had nearly fallen over as I opened the door to see each unit precariously balanced on one another. They looked flustered like a bunch of kids caught staying up past their bedtime.

I blinked a few times in disbelief at their childlike antics, but ultimately I decided to move on and not ask any questions. Quickly the 3 of them scrambled to their feet and stood at attention, where I then updated them on the situation.

"Alright girls, so as you no doubt already know, we're leaving this place and I'll be taking all of you to live with me at my house." I informed, peaking their interest. "So I want each of you to go say goodbye to the team. You may not exactly like them but you've grown on them and they're really going to miss the 3 of you. After this you'll probably never get the chance to see them again, whether you like it or not. So I expect each of you to be polite and respectful since this'll be your last time here." I ended with my attention aimed specifically at Aiva, who wasn't listening and was instead zoning off in her own little world.

"Aiva… Earth to Aiva…" I waved my hand in front of her faceplate, but got no reaction. I then reached out and poked her polymer cheek. Startling her and interrupting her fantasy daydream which most likely involved me in someway not PG.

"Y-yes Darling?" Aiva blushed with wide optics and a nervous giggle.

"You weren't listening at all, were you?" I shook my head in amusement.

"Nope!" She proudly declared while wearing a devious smile, causing me to roll my eyes.

"Yeah I thought as much… anyway, I'm sure you girls all know what to do." I concluded as I stepped aside to let the femmes march out and say their final goodbyes. But not before each of them pecked a quick kiss on my cheek as they left… possibly mimicking what they saw Veronica previously do to me.

With the girls now cleared and out of the way, I ran inside and hastily crammed everything I'd brought into my bag. It was about time I returned home, my stay had lasted far longer than originally anticipated and honestly I'm feeling homesick after how long I've 'lived' here.

With everything packed and double checked, I left the room one final time with my bag slung casually over my shoulder.

I returned to the main room to see Ana and Veronica sitting on the floor and passionately embracing Emmi, who frankly didn't understand what was going on, but was enjoying the attention regardless. Meanwhile Robbie stood off to the side with Aiva and Athena, telling another one of his wild stories as the femmes listened patiently.

I snickered to myself as I moved to the stairwell. The twins turned eagerly at my presence, wanting to escape but knowing they had to stay and listen, unless I intervened.

"Alright gang, I'm all packed up." I announced causing everyone to briefly glance up at the intrusion.

"Take all the time you need, don't rush." I reassured just moments before noticing that the girls were looking particularly ready to leave.

"But that being said, I would like to leave sometime before it gets dark." I concluded as I went outside to tell Arcee the news. Almost immediately after I left, the girls separated themselves from the group and followed me up the stairs, with the team trailing close behind.

I resurfaced outside one again to find Arcee peacefully sitting amongst a bed of yellow dandelions. She ran her hand gently through the flora while admiring the vibrant colours. Eager however to tell her the good news, I called out while making my way over. "Hey Arcee! I got some great news." Causing her to accidentally crush one of the tiny dandelions set beneath her grasp, she looked disheartened at it for a few moments before tossing it aside and refocusing her attention on me.

"Oh that's wonderful Honey! What is it?" She clasped her hands together eagerly,

"Well… starting toda~" I began explaining, but was interrupted mid-sentence and mid-stride by a flash mob of bodies running out of the stairwell and trampling me to the ground. Resulting in a hectic dog pile of everyone involved.

"Oh my poor Honey..." Arcee gasped as she carefully reached into the pileup and pulled me out. Setting me on her lap, she brushed off my clothes and checked me over before asking again. "So Honey, what's the big surprise?"

"Well what I was trying to say before I got flattened..." I paused while rubbing the pain away and glaring at the femmes responsible, they hopped to their feet and stood with bashful expression. Causing the trio of humans that were sprawled on top the femmes to be flung several feet in the air.

"Anyway, starting today each of you girls will be coming to live with me at my home. There it will be much more private for all of us, with hopefully enough space for you to fit comfortably." I restated as her optics seemed to sparkle with anticipation.

"Oh I love it Honey! I love you!" Arcee pulled me into a hug so aggressively, that she actually ended up landing on her back and rolling partway down the small hill. Giggling relentlessly while holding me snuggly against her chest, to the point of sandwiching me between her bountiful breasts.

"Let's go right now! Can we? Pleeease~!" Arcee sat up so quickly, that if it weren't for her tight grip and the mass amounts of padding around my head, I would have gotten whiplash.

"Alright! Glad you're excited… I don't see why we should delay the inevitable." I agreed, albeit a little fearful as I held on for dear life. It was absolutely incredible how easily Arcee could throw around her immense size and weight.

"Arcee, transform." I commanded as she smiled, placed me back on my feet, and took a big step back before transforming into the same orange starship used previously. My stomach churned at the thought of flying anymore today. But since there weren't any other options and driving all that distance would simply take may too long, I decided to man up and play along.

Aiva, Athena, and Emmi all gravitated to me as I hiked up to Arcee's open hangar.

"Well, I guess this is it… our story is over..." Robbie murmured to himself as the group solemnly watched us leave from afar, all slightly dazed on account of just being sent into orbit.

"OYE! WAIT UP THERE KIDDOS!" Robbie bellowed as he marched to the bottom of the ramp, moments before we disappeared inside. Everyone looked at him confused to what he was doing.

"You, robots, c'mere." He pointed directly at the femmes. They all turned to me wondering what they should do, I shrugged and sent them down to hear what Robbie wanted to say.

They briskly marched down the loading ramp to where Robbie stood, upon arrival he glanced up at me, then motioned for the girls to lean in which they reflexively did.

"I wonder what's that all about." Arcee asked as one of her Holograms materialized next to me.

"I'm not too sure… but knowing Robbie it's probably something stupid." I retorted as we continued to watch from a distance.

"Y'all take care of our Zack you hear, he's the only one we got and I'll be damned if he gets hurt by you, or anyone else while under your protection…. But that being said, he's very lucky to have all of you in his life. Zack's never had much luck when it came to being in a relationship, always been a bit of an awkward egg…. Anyway, give him lots of love, keep him safe, and don't screw this up. You're probably the best thing to ever happen to him." Robbie spoke out of earshot of me, I was however able to see the girls all nod in agreement to what they heard.

Robbie ended with a military salute as a final farewell to the femmes. Aiva and Athena both returned the gesture out of respect, despite not viewing him superior nor being under his command. Emmi chose to simply hug Robbie's legs for probably the first time since she's known him.

The interaction ended and both groups parted ways. Robbie sauntered over to the small grassy hill where both Ana and Veronica were sitting and silently watching the show. Meanwhile my femmes briskly marched up the ramp and promptly returned to my side, clearly eager to leave.

The team and I shared one final wave goodbye before the girls got impatient and forcefully dragged me inside the ship, where I was then held prisoner against the bench by 3 femmes aggressively clingy to me and locking me firmly in place.

Arcee's hologram materialized in front of us, standing with her arms crossed while she shook her head humorously. "Honey, if you're not too busy playing, I'm ready to launch when you are."

"Go for launch..." I smiled after thinking for a moment, knowing I've always wanted to say that line.

Arcee nodded and her hologram faded away. Following this, her rockets ignited and the ship lifted off the ground, once again scorching the lawn. The ascent was purposefully slow, allowing me to turn and watch the team as we departed, despite them not being able to see me through Arcee's tinted windows.

However, just before the airlock doors closed and the ramp retracted, Emmi hopped off my lap and made a beeline for the rear exit. Where she then jumped without hesitation, nearly 30 feet down to the ground. The team shot to their feet immediately upon seeing her go into free fall. Emmi then ran over completely unscathed from the fall and hugged both Ana and Veronica passionately for the last time.

Neither Arcee nor the twins seemed fazed by any of this. Either they hadn't taken any notice, or to them this was something completely ordinary with no cause for concern. Despite knowing that I was still on the brink of having a heart attack.

Emmi finished and turned back to the ship, noticing that Arcee wasn't waiting around for her. Using her tail, Emmi jumped high into the air towards the ship. I almost freaked out when she disappeared from my view, thinking she hadn't made it and was about to be left behind. But that thought quickly subsided when she reappeared just moments before the ramp retracted and the airlock closed. Walking calmly with a satisfied skip in her step. I gave a sigh of relief as Emmi returned to my lap, snuggled up, and fell asleep with my hand on her helm as if nothing had happened.

By now we had flown through the clouds and were no longer in view of the team, allowing Arcee to blast past the sound barrier.

"Is it normal for your species to always seek out danger?" I opened the conversation with Emmi still on my mind while absentmindedly combing her lush silky hair.

"Take no notice Darling, Emmi was simply trying to win your attention using a rather crude but effective sympathy tactic. Making you fear for her when in reality there was no danger present." Athena dismissed as Emmi subtly peeked out to see what was happening, but then quickly squeezing her optics shut and pretended to be asleep when Athena scowled at her.

"Sorry... I guess it's just human nature to worry…" I apologized with an awkward chuckle.

"No need to apologize Darling, it's sparkwarming to know that you love and care so deeply for us." Athena gave a near angelic smile as she subtly reached for my hand, but hesitated the moment we touched…. Finally she decided to go for it and share in some 'elicit' hand holding, intertwining her digits with mine while wearing a blissful expression. I mentally chuckled at her adorable behaviour towards something so innocent and commonplace.

I yawned deeply and settled comfortably into my seat. Taking the time to relax, savour the girls loving embrace, and enjoy the view.

Roughly 10 minutes of blissful silence elapsed with me passively watching the serene mountains through the opposing window ahead of me, when I noticed a striking similarity between all the crests, ridges, and peaks that passed by.

Then it finally dawned on me that we were still within proximity of the base, circling the mountains that decorated the area. Concerned I spoke up; "Hey Arcee, can I ask you something?..."

"Yes of course Honey, you can ask me anything!" Her perky hologram materialized into existence with a *poof*.

"Are you flying in circles?" I stated bluntly.

"Maybe…" The hologram avoided the question by repeatedly rolling from her heels to her toes.

"Do you even know where you're going?" I emphasized.

"Nope!" She hopped in place, causing her large digital boobs to bounce along for the ride.

I exhaled and stood up from the clingy femmes and fished my phone out of my pocket. "Here Arcee, this is where I live…" I directed the holograms attention to the map displayed on my phones screen. "So can you get there?" I asked as she analyzed the device intrigued.

"I have a better idea Honey…" Arcee spoke slyly as she glanced mischievously at the femmes seated on the bench, who each returned a suspicious look. Then without warning she grabbed my wrist and hauled me off towards the cockpit.

In response Aiva and Emmi heroically lunged forward attempting to 'rescue' me. Only to narrowly miss and for both femmes to hit the floor and pileup on each other instead.

Seeing her opportunity, Arcee picked up the pace and started running away with me in tow. While I was busy keeping a firm grip on my smartphone, determined not to have it dropped and trampled on.

Not far behind, the 2 femmes snarled in frustration then immediately continued the chase. Leaving Athena behind on the bench to quietly observe from a distance.

With the femmes hot on our tail and about to catch me, Arcee made a last ditch effort and shoved me into the co-pilot's seat then immediately slammed the cockpit doors shut behind me. Preventing the others from getting to me while inadvertently locking herself outside with the pair of enraged femmes.

Luckily since Arcee's hologram body is merely a projection that allows her to freely navigate, manoeuvre, and relocate anywhere within her physical chassis. Despite any obstructions or obstacles that might be in her way.

While I was busy reorienting myself after landing upside down in the seat, Arcee's beautiful form gracefully passed through the sealed solid bulkhead door and giggled as she watched me roll onto the floor.

"Finally… you're all mine Honey…" Arcee fluttered in anticipation as she picked me up and effortlessly carried me bridal style to the central pilot's seat and guided by hands onto her controls.

"I'm ready Honey… please be gentle…" Arcee muttered as she closed her optics and bit her lip anxiously.

I tightened my grip and was about to take control, however, the peace was short lived when a loud bang rattled the cabin. Causing me to jump back prematurely and separate from her interface.

"Give me back my Darling." Aiva demanded while continuing to pound the tightly sealed door.

"No, he's mine, I won him fair and square... if you want him you'll have to take him by force." Arcee challenged while cradling my head against her chest, attempting to call her bluff. But Aiva didn't respond and instead stayed eerily silent.

"Don't worry Honey, my chassis is impenetrable… you're safe with me." Arcee reassured trying to reclaim my attention.

"No… I need to take responsibility..." I declared with newfound vigor as I stood too face the door. "Arcee open the cockpit door… I'm gonna handle this head on." She frowned but did as instructed.

The doors opened to the surprise of Aiva, catching her off guard with her guns deployed, moments from opening fire. Nevertheless she grinned sadistically and grabbed my arm and began pulling me away. Subsequently, 5 of Arcee's holograms appeared and grabbed hold my other arm, attempting to keep me in place, but struggling to do so against Aiva's immense strength.

Essentially being used as a live tug of war rope, the strain on my joints, shoulders, and arms was unbearably painful and almost enough to tear me apart. Emmi meanwhile made no real advances to help my current situation, only curiously watching her big sparksisters 'wrestle' with me, then join in and bind my legs together in a hug.

"THAT'S ENOUGH, ALL UNITS CEASE CURRENT OPERATIONS." Athena raised her voice as she marched over and violently snatched me away, then ordered all remaining femmes to sit on the bench and await discipline.

"This constant rivalry between sparksister units is unproductive and inefficient. Humans are extremely fragile creatures and fighting one another for his attention will only result in our Darling getting hurt." Athena scolded causing each femme to react individually to the situation.

"Since you're all unable to cooperate and effectively share Darling, then I'm forced to remove Darling from your presence and place him into immediate time-out as punishment for your reckless behaviour." Athena concluded as she held me in place with her hands on my shoulders, I gulped at the implications of that threat.

Glaring distastefully at her twin, Athena continued with a menacing undertone. "Non-compliance will result in a longer punishment duration for Darling… so I suggest you comply."

I felt through the bond that Aiva really wanted to fight back and lash out and run away with me. But ultimately decided against that in fear of losing me for a longer period of time.

Athena's hollow chassis opened behind me, revealing an area within her perfectly designed to accommodate a human. I caught a quick glance at the guilty looks of remorse from the other femmes, before Athena guided me inside her chassis and sealed herself around me.

Encased within Athena, it was like we had become one entity. I could see and hear everything that happened around her thanks to the human interface inside her helmet.

She then walked to the bench with me as her passenger and sat down in between Aiva and Emmi. It was a strange feeling having my body controlled externally.

I felt Athena adjust her chassis dimensions to better 'hug' my body uniformly and snuggly, like an extra layer of polymer skin. This change meant that I could barely move within her rigid frame apart from some very small comfort adjustments.

Fortunately, Athena permitted me partial control of her chassis, allowing me to fidget and shift in place. Although she could easily restrict my control privileges and take back control if she felt it necessary.

Emmi and Aiva silently protested my containment while keeping a safe distance away from Athena, to avoid receiving any additional time penalties. Arcee had recalled all holograms and was now flying in silence to the destination previously provided.

True to her word, Athena kept me locked inside her chassis for the remainder of the 40 minute flight of an otherwise 4 hour car ride. Only letting me out once near my house so I could direct Arcee where to land. Emmi, Aiva, and Arcee all embraced me upon release with lubricant leaking from their optics.

Despite appearance, being stuck inside Athena was a blessing in disguise. She was warm, quiet, and cozy… the perfect place for a much needed nap.

We departed from Arcee into my backyard where the brisk night air hit me like a slap in the face. Effectively erasing any temporary drowsiness in me, but still leaving me completely drained and exhausted as I dragged myself to open the garage door.

I could see the neighbors bedroom lights begin to switch on and glow in the night sky from all commotion happening in the ghostly silent neighbourhood.

But realizing it was locked from the inside, I instructed Arcee to stay hidden since I really didn't want anyone to peer outside and see a giant alien robot standing in my backyard, forgetting the smouldering scorch marks burned into my lawn that will need to be dealt with later.

Turns out this long day had taken a toll on me, as I nearly tripped over my feet multiple times during the short trip to the front door. Thankfully the girls followed close behind and were prepared in case I fell.

It took me a minute to find the right key for the door, despite not owning many locks. After that I stumbled inside and rushed to open the rear garage door and let Arcee inside before anyone noticed her.

I then crawled to my bedroom and passed out on my bed with my clothes still on.

Aiva and Emmi eagerly jumped into bed with me and hugged my unconscious body as they drifted into sleep mode.

Athena silently placed my bag on the floor near my dresser and stood in sentry mode next to the door. Watching over the bedroom until her systems eventually went into sentry standby.

Lastly a group of Arcee's holograms materialized in the bedroom to fill the remaining empty space on the bed while Arcee slept downstairs inside the spacious garage in the form of a custom orange Ducati sport bike.

Thus ending one of the longest and most eventful days in my life...

 ** _A/N: Well I hope you enjoyed this latest chapter, I put a lot of time and effort into writing it to the best of my ability… and sorry again for the long update hiatus, I truly am… in future I'm gonna try writing shorter and more frequent chapters, but I don't know how reliably I can keep that promise._**

 ** _ALSO, a new femme was joined the roster, I hope you liked her reveal and her character as a whole. I think I did a bang up job on her personality and also how I showed her abilities and size._**

 ** _To end I just want to thank each and everyone of you for supporting this story to its first major milestone. 100k words! I can promise you this will not be the last accomplishment, and I'll keep writing this project until the whole stories been told. I honestly never thought I'd make it this far when I initially wrote up a timeline for this story… that was 2 years ago, crazy right?_**

 ** _So anyway I'd like to personally say thank you, this project wouldn't be as successful without your support. Leave a comment, like or possibly favourite, that would be extremely helpful so that others could see the interest in my story!_**

 ** _Until next time!..._**

Located on a remote offshore island, inside an underground room chiseled out of solid bedrock with jagged 40 ft ceilings, sat a woman sitting at a large obsidian desk with the initials R.H. gold smelted in the tabletop.

Most notably, she wore bright red lipstick, a tight corset underneath blood stained leopard fur coat, and high heels with her feet propped up on her desk next to withered rose plant.

"Hmm, how interesting… he's actually managed to control those creatures and make them fight for him." She commented with her attention on the massive stadium screens mounted on the wall. Showing a news update on the 'public protest turned violent massacre in the city of Fortitude.'

Meanwhile, a fast series of footsteps echoed throughout the hallway as one of her henchman ran eagerly to share a newfound discovery. But haphazardly threw open her doors unannounced, saying; "Rouge! We found it! We found one those creatures…"

Without hesitation she pressed a button on her keyboard and the henchman immediately collapsed and dissolved into a bubbling sludge on the floor. A small roomba with googly eyes on it activated from under Rouge's desk and cleaned the mess.

Another henchman promptly arrived in place of the first and timidly knocked. "Lady Hawthorne…"

"Come in!" She invited with a cheerful tone.

"My mistress… we have determined the location of an un-activated pod, and estimate we can retrieve and restrain the asset before it activates and poses a threat." He explained while stepping around the roomba.

"Excellent, send a dispatch team to retrieve her immediately… you're dismissed." She praised while watching the massive screen, the henchman left without a second thought and returned to his post.

"Don't worry, I will learn your secrets soon enough…"


End file.
